ST. LOUIS – Localized heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl had the Army Corps of Engineers keeping a close watch on river levels on Tuesday.
The café in front of the Gateway Arch was empty while river levels flooded the parking lot below.
“We are quite a bit above average for this time of year. Usually the river is around 15 or 16 feet for this time in July,” Liam Wallace, a hydraulic engineer for the Army Corps, said.
Bommarito Automotive Group SkyFOX video showed flooding along Lenore K. Sullivan Boulevard Tuesday morning. The Mississippi River sat around 31.7 feet in the afternoon, with another six to 12 inches expected by Wednesday morning.
“Both Missouri and on the Illinois side have been getting hit pretty badly from these remnants of Beryl. Thankfully, on the Illinois side, a little less. The Illinois River isn’t contributing as much as the Missouri and Mississippi, so that’s kind of the saving grace right now,” Wallace said.
Heavy rains from Iowa and Minnesota brought flood waters south on the Mississippi. Rain on the other side of the state is also bringing more water to the St. Louis area, according to Wallace.
“The Missouri River has been getting hit with quite a bit of rain in Kansas City so that has been making it’s way through, which is causing the levels we’re seeing right now,” he said.
Luckily, the water levels are not impacting barges trying to get through the area. Flooding from the weekend along the Missouri River is falling and starting to bring relief to the Mississippi River, Wallace explained.
“That is going to work its way down. So that should give a little buffer room for us here in St. Louis and south to be able to absorb some of that rain,” he said.
