St. Louis area marks Fourth of July amid wet weather and rising rivers
ST. LOUIS — Overnight downpours triggered flash flood warnings around the St. Louis area early Thursday, contributed to the rise of the region's major rivers and scrambled plans for some local Fourth of July festivities, although rain stopped soon enough for others to remain uninterrupted.
In St. Charles — where the city's Riverfest parade was among a smattering of rain-related cancellations — the swelling levels of the Missouri River also prompted the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Museum to issue calls for volunteers to help get boats and equipment out of the water's rising reach. Late Thursday, the city announced that all Riverfest events scheduled for Friday, July 5, had been canceled as a result of the Missouri's continued rise.
The river has been pushed high primarily by severe flooding in upstream states like Nebraska and Iowa, with an additional bump provided by some heavy bursts of local rainfall.
Last night, for example, some parts of the St. Louis area received almost 3 inches of rain, according to the local forecast office of the National Weather Service — with 2.74 inches recorded after midnight at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield.
But conditions improved quickly enough for some of Thursday's parades to proceed in dry or even sunny conditions. Attendees at America's Birthday parade in St. Louis said the weather ended up working out wonderfully, with overcast skies giving way to the sun by the end of the procession, despite an earlier scare from the forecast.
"We were a little nervous this morning," said Denise Huller, of O'Fallon, Illinois, at the downtown parade.
Other events centered around the holiday saw plans get reshuffled . More than a half-dozen cities throughout the region pushed their Fourth of July celebrations to Friday, including Florissant, Kirkwood and Washington.
And with the chance of more rain in the forecast Thursday evening, it's possible that more festivities and fireworks displays could join the list of postponed events.
"There is another potential round (of rain) tonight. ... The atmosphere still has a lot of heavy moisture in it," said Chris Kimble, a local meteorologist for the National Weather Service. But he added, "in general, the greater threat is to the south of St. Louis."
Thursday evening's potential storms could also produce flash flooding, damaging winds and frequent lightning, the NWS said. But the storm front is expected to give way to dry conditions on Friday and into the weekend.
Water levels in the region's major rivers are expected to remain elevated in the week ahead.
In St. Charles, for example, the Missouri River is soon projected to enter its moderate flood stage, while coming within about 3 feet of its major flood stage this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Mississippi River in St. Louis is not projected to see as significant a crest, though it may graze the threshold for its moderate flood stage in the coming days.
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