Flash Flood in Jersey County, Illinois

Up to four inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded. In Grafton, a 42 year old woman was walking home, possibly intoxicated. She was last seen on North Cedar Street at about 11 pm on December 26th, 2015. Authorities suspected she tried to cross a flooded roadway near a creek and was swept out to the Mississippi River and drowned. Her body was finally located March 10th, 2016 about 6 miles downstream. Cause of death was accidental drowning.

A prolonged period of rainfall occurred from the early morning hours of December 26th to the evening of December 28th. The heaviest rainfall occurred in a 50 to 75 mile wide swath from southwest Missouri through the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area and into central Illinois. Three day rainfall totals within this swath ranged from 6 to 12 inches, with lighter amounts extending both northwest and southeast to the state border. Some of the precipitation fell as a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow across northwest portions of the state. All of this rain caused historic river flooding for the many rivers throughout the region. This resulted in floods of record on the Bourbeuse River at Union, the Meramec River at Pacific, Eureka, Valley Park, and Arnold, and major flooding on the Missouri River (at Gasconade and Hermann), the Mississippi River at Winfield Lock and Dam and points downstream, the Cuivre River at Old Monroe, Dardenne Creek, the Gasconade River, the Moreau River, the Illinois River, and the Kaskaskia River at Vandalia. The only location not reporting flooding after this event was the Salt River near New London, where the Clarence Cannon Dam regulates the flow. All other forecast points reported at least minor flooding. Seven flooding deaths were reported in our area due to the heavy rains. Approximately 1500 structures were either damaged or destroyed by the flood waters in the forecast area. At this time dollar amount damages are expected to top $1 billion dollars.