Flash Flood — St. Louis, Missouri

2008-09-14 · near Clayton, St. Louis, Missouri

Event narrative

The remnants of Hurricane Ike moved through the midwest dumping between 3 and 6 inches of rain in just under 6 hours on already saturated soils. This caused widespread flash flooding over St. Louis County. One of the hardest hit areas was University City. Two people drowned in University City when trying to move their vehicles away from the rising flood waters. Another person was killed when a large tree limb that was struck by lightning fell on her in Ladue. Other areas affected by the flash flooding were Hazelwood, Ferguson, Brentwood, Maplewood, Rock Hill, Webster Groves, and Florissant. Over 600 homes, apartments and business were affected by the flooding. Numerous water rescues had to be performed when people drove their vehicles into flooded roadways and became stuck in the flood waters.

Wider weather episode

A cold front moved through the region and interacted with the remnants of Hurricane Ike. Widespread heavy rain was reported across Missouri and Illinois causing major flooding across the region. Many small creeks in the St. Louis Metropolitan area that had not flooded for years became raging rivers flooding roads, homes and businesses. Also, winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ike caused tree, power line and building damage in some locations.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.6491, -90.3131)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 136941. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.