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Torrential downpours caused flash flooding in St. Louis and surrounding areas, with at least one person dead and residents stranded in their cars and homes as rainfall broke a record set more than a century ago.
The city had received more than 9 inches of rain in the afternoon, the most on record there in a calendar day and about 2 inches more than the record of about 7 inches set in August 1915, when the remnants of a hurricane that came ashore at Galveston, Tex., passed through the area.
In six hours, 7.68 inches of rain fell in St. Louis, an event with less than a 1 in 1,000 chance of occurring in a given year, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas northwest of the city saw rainfall totals of up to a foot.
Firefighters had responded to about 70 rescues by late Tuesday morning, St. Louis, Dennis Jenkerson. On an island in the western part of the city, the fire department said, it had used an inflatable boat to rescue six people and six dogs trapped in about 18 houses amid severe flooding. About 15 people chose to take refuge in their place.
Torrential downpours on July 26 caused flash flooding in St. Louis and surrounding areas. (Video: The Washington Post)
About 10 a.m., one person’s body was pulled from a car that had been covered by about 8½ feet of floodwater, Jenkerson said. He said the incident was under investigation and did not provide further details.
Although the flood waters were receding by Tuesday afternoon, Jenkerson said the weight of the water had caused some roofs to partially collapse. He described the property damage as “significant.”
Videos shared on social media showed many low roads completely inaccessible. Part of Interstate 70 was closed Tuesday afternoon due to flooding, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.
Emergency officials in St. Louis residents urged not to travel and said they had set up a shelter for displaced people. The central part of the county was the most affected by the water, they said.
“Exercise an abundance of caution,” said St. Louis Garon Patrick Mosby in a video shared on Twitter. “We are invaded here.”
On behalf of Gov. Mike Parson (R), who was out of the country Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) declared a state of emergency to help local authorities manage the disaster.
Parson tweeted that he had been informed about the flooding and both thanked those who helped their fellow Missourians.
Extreme precipitation events have increased substantially over the past century and are linked to warming from human-caused climate change. The most severe such events increased 42 percent in the Midwest between 1901 and 2016, with additional increases expected as the climate continues to warm, according to the US government’s National Climate Assessment.
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The rain in St. Louis began Monday afternoon as the storms formed along a west-to-east line, repeatedly passing over the city like train cars on a track through Tuesday morning. The Weather Service warned of “life-threatening flash flooding” shortly after 2 a.m. and later declared a flash flood emergency, its most severe flood warning. By then, 3 to 6 inches of rain had fallen and the high water “threatened homes” and vehicles were submerged, according to the Weather Service.
“This is a particularly dangerous situation,” he warned. “Seek higher ground now!”
A stream in St. Peters, northwest of St. Louis, climbed 21.5 feet in seven hours to a record crest in the middle of the torrent.
The storms formed along the northern periphery of an extended heat dome over the south-central states, responsible in recent days for record temperatures in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. St. Louis was located in the turbulent transition zone between that oppressive heat and cooler weather entering the Upper Midwest from Canada.
On Tuesday, the Weather Service declared the area from eastern Missouri to central West Virginia under an elevated risk of excessive rainfall, with the greatest risk from the St. Louis to southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana. This risk is expected to move into the area from southeast Missouri to West Virginia on Wednesday and Thursday.
Three days in a row with an elevated flash flood threat in the central and southern Appalachians as a parkland plume of deep moisture over the region. For the latest heavy rain outlook, including an interactive map, go here: pic.twitter.com/RDPO5wqBvO
— Alex Lamers (@AlexJLamers) July 26, 2022