Missouri, 1997

Flooding in Missouri, March 1 to 22, 1997

March 1 to 22, 1997 · NWS PAH · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A death occurred when an 18-year-old girl lost control of her vehicle and went off a levee which bound backwater from the Mississippi River. M.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$150,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.

A death occurred when an 18-year-old girl lost control of her vehicle and went off a levee which bound backwater from the Mississippi River. This death occurred around 4:30 A.M. about 9 miles east of Portageville, Missouri. The most significant flooding occurred downriver from Cairo, including New Madrid, due mainly to a massive flood crest from the Ohio River. A Red Cross shelter was opened in East Prairie. About 30 county roads were closed, as was Big Oak Tree State Park. Several businesses along the levees were affected, including a grain elevator company. Around 50,000 sandbags were issued by the Corps Of Engineers. A drainage levee failed near Sikeston, impacting fewer than 50 homes.The Army Corps of Engineers declared a Mississippi River flood emergency and monitored levees south of Sikeston. In Mississippi County, about 114 homes were impacted by seep and impound water, with 4 homes reported with water inside.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Perry

When
March 1, 12:01 AM CST to March 22, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Perry forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$150,000
Coordinates
37.707, -89.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Cape Girardeau

When
March 1, 12:01 AM CST to March 22, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Cape Girardeau forecast zone
Coordinates
37.384, -89.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Scott

When
March 1, 12:01 AM CST to March 22, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Scott forecast zone
Coordinates
37.053, -89.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Mississippi

When
March 1, 12:01 AM CST to March 22, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Mississippi forecast zone
Coordinates
36.828, -89.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, New Madrid

When
March 1, 12:01 AM CST to March 22, 11:00 AM CST
Where
New Madrid forecast zone
Coordinates
36.595, -89.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Flood, Perry1997-03-0218FemaleVehicle/Towed TrailerDirect

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Missouri in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, March 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5594924, 5594925, 5594926, 5594927, 5594928.