Flood in Wayne County, Missouri

Record flooding occurred on the St. Francis River as the month began. The river crested at 37.05 feet on the Patterson river gage on the evening of April 30th. The old record was 35.77 feet in December of 1982. Numerous roads were closed, including Business Route 67 in Greenville and Route 34 at the St. Francis River Bridge. The record river flooding affected Lake Wappapello, which is formed by a dam on the St. Francis River near the town of Wappapello. Water poured over the emergency spillway of the dam. Mandatory evacuations were considered for areas below the dam. The lake levels in Lake Wappapello came close to the record set in 2011, but they did not reach it. Highway T just below the dam was washed out.

A series of heavy rainfall events in April, followed by another heavy rainfall event in early May, kept the Mississippi and St. Francis Rivers above flood stage for all or most of the month. The Mississippi River flooding was major in many locations north of the confluence of the Ohio River. Rainfall totals from April 28-30 ranged from 6 to 10 inches across much of southern Illinois and southeast Missouri. The St. Francis River crested at a new record high at the Patterson gage.