St. Louis expected to escape record flooding

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ST. LOUIS (KMOX)-While some have voiced fears that the St. Louis area could be seeing the worst flooding ever this spring, the man whose job it is to predict such things, says we're "absolutely" not looking at that now.

National Weather Service Hydrologist Mark Fuchs tells KMOX while some snow and ice up north still has to melt, that doesn't mean we're looking at anything historic. "For that to happen, you would have to have late spring and early summertime thunderstorms to really help, or hurt the situation as it progresses." 

The rivers are rising but will they set records in #STL? The latest forecast in @kmoxnews at 7:09 CT pic.twitter.com/GLvuampNtj

— Brian Kelly (@Brpkelly) March 18, 2019

As it stands, the Mississippi River could get high enough in St. Louis at mid-week to force the closing of the Gratoit and Chouteau Floodgates and flooding could close Sullivan Blvd., Riverview Dr. and the Laclede's Landing garage.

While the Missouri River is breaking records in Iowa, Nebraska and northwest Missouri, Fuchs says tht high water is not expected to reach St. Charles. "With the lack of significant inflow coming in from the Kansas River and from the Grand River across Missouri, and other tributaries- the Osage among them- we're not really expecting that kind of historic flooding in Northwest Missouri to propagate into our neck of the woods." 

The Missouri is expected to crest a couple of feet over flood stage at Washington and St. Charles on Wednesday.