Historic Rainfall Causes Deadly Flooding in St. Louis Area

ST. LOUIS, MO — Historic, record rainfall caused deadly flash flooding the St. Louis early Tuesday after more than a foot of rain fell across parts of the region.

Firefighters across the region were busy with water rescues as dozens of roads and neighborhoods flooded. A section of Interstate 70 needed to be closed along with many roads. Some vehicles were completely submerged in more than 8 feet of water.

At least one person has died from the historic flooding. According to the St. Louis Fire Department, the body was found inside a car after flood waters receded. At least 70 others had been rescued from the flooding.

Several suburbs surrounding St. Louis were surrounded by flooding from nearby streams and creeks that overflowed their banks. including one that was forced to evacuate as flood water threatened their neighborhood.

As of noon, 10-12″ of rain had fallen across parts of the metro area as rain continues to fall.

https://twitter.com/NWSStLouis/status/1551975863394021377?s=20&t=kE3rN4j9n1oBaux2uWL-Vw

Storms began shortly after midnight and remained nearly stationary due to a stalled front. A steady supply of moisture streamed into the region producing rainfall rates of 2-3″ per hour. Although the region was under an extended drought, it likely caused flooding to occur even faster as the dry soil couldn’t absorb the heavy and persistent downpours. Another factor in the extreme flooding was due to the rain setting up over an urban area covered by buildings and concrete.

Parts of southern Missouri outside of St. Louis, as well as Southern Illinois, also dealt with heavy rain and flash flooding. Some locations have reported more than 6″ since the storms began last night.