Flash Flood in Bond County, Illinois

Another round of heavy rain fell over Bond County, between 4 and 5 inches. Storm total rains were between 5 and 9 inches for the approximately 60 hour period. Numerous roads were flooded including Interstate 70, which was shut down around 7 am on December 28th. Several feet of flowing water was over both east and west bound lanes of Interstate 70, just east of exit 36. The highway remained closed until 2 pm on December 29th.

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.