Flash Flooding and Flooding in Missouri, December 26 to 31, 2015

Over 5 inches of rain fell across St. Louis County on Dec. 26th through the morning hours of Dec. 27th. This caused major flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded. Deer Creek in Brentwood rose nearly 11 feet in just 3 hours along with Black Creek, which sent water onto Manchester Road. Ten people had to be rescued from cars, homes and businesses in this area. In Wildwood, around 9 pm on the 26th, two vehicles were swept off of Wild Horse Creek Road, near intersection with Puellman Road. The first vehicle tried to navigate through the flooded roadway but became stranded. The high school student called his father, who hurried to the scene to from the opposite direction. He too became stranded and his car was lifted and carried down stream. He managed to climb out of his vehicle and cling to a tree, until he could be rescued. The son managed to get to safety on his own. Neither sustained any injuries.

Between 3 and 6 inches of rain fell across Crawford County. There were numerous roads flooded including a two mile stretch of Route N southeast of Bourbon due to Blue Springs Creek, which was well out of its banks in several locations.

Between 3 and 5 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including U.S. Highway 50 at several locations along it. Also, Route RA was closed.

Between 5 and 6 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including U.S. Highway 50 near Mt. Sterling and Route A in multiple areas between Routes Y and D. Also, Routes W and K were closed due to flash flooding from Second Creek.

Between 5 and 6 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Route AC about 2 miles northwest of Sullivan due to Boone Creek rising well above its banks. Also, Route YY was closed due to flash flooding from St. Johns Creek and Route KK was closed due to 1 foot of water flowing over the roadway.

Between 3 and 4 inches of rain fell across the northern portions of Jefferson County on Dec. 26th through the morning hours of Dec. 27th. Numerous roads were flooded.

Between 3 and 5 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Several roads were flooded including Route Y west of Foley.

Between 5 and 6 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded across the county including Highway N between Highway K and Weiss Road. Dardenne Creek was well out of its banks in this location. At least one home was flooded with about 3 to 4 feet of water. Several water rescues occurred in this area as between 6 to 8 vehicles became stranded in the flood waters. Other roads closed were Routes C, B and D as well as Highway 94 near Defiance. Another water rescue occurred on Highway F one mile northwest of Defiance.

Between 3 and 5 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Highway 94 between Route N and Route U in both directions.

Between 3 and 4 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Highway 94. Water was flowing over Highway 94 just northeast of Mokane, so the highway was closed in both directions for a time. Three homes were affected by the flash flooding but only sustained minor damage.

Between 3 and 4 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Route H at Rangeline Road and Highway CC at Tri-City Road.

Between 3 and 4 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Highway 94 in several locations near Rhineland and Route J at several locations south of Mineola.

Between 6 and 8 inches of rain fell across Osage County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Osage, Gasconade and Missouri Rivers went into major flood. About 20 structures were either damaged or destroyed from the river flooding.

Between 6 and 9 inches of rain fell across Gasconade County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Gasconade River and Missouri River went into flood with several points cresting at major levels. Almost 20 structures were either damaged or destroyed from the river flooding. Damage estimates so far were around $160 Thousand.

Between 7 and 10 inches of rain fell across St. Louis County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Meramec River went into major flood with several points cresting at record levels. Almost 900 structures were either damaged or destroyed from the river flooding, with Eureka, Valley Park and Fenton being some of the worst hit areas in St. Louis County. One school, Eureka High School, sustained some flooding damage, mainly to the gymnasium area, which included the wood gym floors, locker rooms, wrestling room, aerobics room and a storage area. Also, two Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District wastewater treatment plants were inundated by the flood waters from the Meramec River. Damage to the plants was estimated around $16 million. The river flooding caused two major interstate highways to be shut down for a couple of days, I-55 just north of Arnold and I-44 in Valley Park. Total damage estimates so far were around $235 million.

Between 4 and 7 inches of rain fell across Lincoln County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Cuivre River went into major flood. Almost 30 structures were either damaged or destroyed from the river flooding. Damage estimates so far were around $235,000.

The flooding persisted across St. Charles County on December 27th and 28th. Numerous roads remained flooded. Interstate 70 had to be shut down between exits 220 and 222 because Dardenne Creek rose 6 feet above flood stage in St. Peters (DRCM7). This caused the Interstate to be flooded by several feet of water. The highway was shut down both directions around Noon on December 27th. Westbound I-70 was reopened at 645 am and eastbound was finally reopened at 130 pm on December 28th.

Between 5 and 7 inches of rain fell across Cole County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Moreau and Missouri Rivers went into major flood. About 10 structures were either damaged or destroyed from the river flooding.

Between 7 and 11 inches of rain fell across St. Charles County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers went into major flood as well as Dardenne Creek. Almost 300 structures were either damaged or destroyed from the river flooding, with St. Peters and St. Charles being the worst hit areas in St. Charles County. Damage estimates so far were around $2.3 million.

Between 6 and 9 inches of rain fell across Franklin County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Meramec River, Bourbeuse River and Missouri River all went into major flood with several points cresting at record levels. Almost 415 structures were either damaged or destroyed from the river flooding, with Union and Pacific being the worst hit in Franklin County. Damage estimates so far were around $2 million.

Between 5 and 8 inches of rain fell across Crawford County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Meramec River rose above flood stage at Steelville on December 27th. On December 30th, an 81 year old man drove into the flood waters of the Meramec on Highway N at Campbell Bridge, about 5 miles southeast of Bourbon. He apparently got out of his vehicle and drown. The flooding caused major damage to one home and completely destroyed another one.

Between 5 and 8 inches of rain fell across Jefferson County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Meramec River and Big River went into major flood with several points cresting at record levels. Forty four homes were destroyed, 975 buildings had major damage and 308 buildings had minor damage from the river flooding, with Arnold being the worst hit in Jefferson County. Also, the High Ridge District 2 water treatment plant was inundated by the flood waters on December 30th, cutting off water supply to at least 20,000 residents. Damage estimates so far were around $2.2 million.

Between 3 and 6 inches of rain fell across the county in a 48 hour period. The heaviest rain fell in the early morning hours of December 28th causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Route F where Logan Creek passes under it, the intersection of Highway 106 and Route B due to Logan Creek being well out of it's banks and Route CC from County Road 465 to the Wayne County line. Damage so far has been estimated around $355,000.

Between 5 and 6 inches of rain fell in a 48 hour period between December 26th and December 28th. There were two waves of rainfall, the second wave caused flash flooding in Iron County. One vehicle became stranded at a low water crossing on County Road 160 just south of Route F, around 545 am on December 28th. The occupant(s) were able to get out, but video from the scene several hours later showed the vehicle being pushed as the current from Brushy Creek became strong enough to lift the SUV and float it downstream. Numerous other roads were flooded including Highway 21 between Routes AA and CC, Highway 221 from Highway 21 through the town of Pilot Knob, Route E over Marble Creek and Route N over the East Fork Black River.

Another round of heavy rain, between 4 and 5 inches of rain fell across St. Louis County December 27th and 28th. This caused more flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded.

Between 4 and 6 inches of rain fell across the county in a 48 hour period. The heaviest rain fell in the early morning hours of December 28th causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded and closed including Route V from CR 238 to CR 243, Route C from Route V to CR 238, Route C from Route N to the Iron County line, and Route O from Route E to the end of state maintenance.

A second round of heavy rain fell from December 27th through December 28th dumping an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain. This caused more flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Route W in both directions, Route BB in both directions, US Highway 61, US Highway 67 at Joachim Creek and Route AA in both directions.

Another round of heavy rain, between 4 and 6 inches of rain fell across St. Charles County December 27th and 28th. This caused more flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded.

Another round of heavy rain, between 3 and 4 inches of rain fell across the City of St. Louis December 27th and 28th. This caused flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded.

Between 4 and 6 inches of rain fell over St. Francois County in a 48 hour period. The heaviest rain fell in the early morning hours of December 28th causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Highway 221 over the St. Francis River and Route F from Old Jackson Road to Wolf Creek Bridge. Around 10 structures were damaged by the flash flooding. Damage was estimated around $275,000.

Between 4 and 6 inches of rain fell over Ste. Genevieve County in a 48 hour period. The heaviest rain fell in the early morning hours of December 28th causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Routes C, J and V, as well as US Highway 61 from Route M to Route H. Around 22 structures were either damaged or destroyed by the flash flooding. Damage was estimated around $300,000.

Another round of heavy rain fell across Crawford County, with an additional 2 to 3 inches reported. Storm total rainfall was 5 to 8 inches from December 26th through December 28th. This second round caused numerous creeks to rise even more, including Huzzah Creek. It flooded a large camping/floating resort off of Highway 8 where Dry Creek empties into Huzzah Creek. Numerous roads were flooded as well.

Another round of heavy rain, between 1 and 2 inches of rain fell across Lincoln County December 27th and 28th. This caused more flash flooding. Numerous roads and farm fields were flooded.