Despite heavy rains Tuesday, precautions taken in anticipation of the deluge averted much of the damage that has been common in past storms.
In recent years, the Washington Park Ice arena has flooded when Wears Creek rises quickly from sudden downpours. But Jefferson City Parks and Recreation officials said they had taken precautions earlier this week, and nothing happened late Tuesday night or into Wednesday morning. Nearby Lions Field did have debris that had to be cleared, they said.
At the Jefferson City Amtrak Station, Jefferson City Public Works Director Matt Morasch said mud and water had come into the building.
"It's been happening more often when we get these heavy rains," Morasch said. "We're trying to work with the state, which owns the property, to come up with a way to solve this. But right now, no one has come up with a plan."
Britt Smith, Jefferson City operations division director, said city crews were out Tuesday night and through the day Wednesday trying to clean out stormwater inlets.
"We had reports of clogged inlets all over town, but some places in particular where Stadium Boulevard and Satinwood Drive meet and on Norris Drive," Smith said. "They were mostly isolated incidents, but they all have an impact. And if it's affecting your house, it's important."
NWS officials said many Mid-Missouri locations received 2-4 inches of rain from Tuesday morning through Wednesday morning; Jefferson City received just more than 3 inches. The forecasters were predicting more rounds of rain through Friday night before a break in the precipitation occurs Saturday through Monday.
With more rain in the forecast, the National Weather Service in St. Louis has revised the forecasts for Mid-Missouri river levels.
For the Missouri River in Jefferson City, the forecast is for the river to crest at 28 feet Friday. The river was at 25 feet Wednesday - 2 feet above flood stage of 23 feet. The river is forecast to go below flood stage by Monday.
If the Missouri does get to 28 feet, Smith said, the main concern will be areas along Wears Creek because the back water will potentially cause flash flooding.
The Moreau River near Jefferson City was near 20 feet Wednesday - 3 feet above flood stage. It was predicted to crest at just more than 22 feet late Wednesday or early today.
Due to the flooding on the Moreau River, the Cole County Public Works Department announced several road closures Wednesday morning: the 6100 block of Buffalo Road, 3100 block of Zion Road, 5900 Bainer Road and 5500 block of Loesch Road.
Other roads in the county closed due to high water included: the 1400 block of Waterford Road, 1300 block of Murphy's Ford Road, 2800 block of Meadowsford Road, 8700 block of Payne Road and 11100 block of North Branch Road.
"We can probably expect the potential for flash flooding conditions through Thursday," Cole County Emergency Management Director Bill Farr said. "We haven't had any damage reports. People have been moving their things out of low-water areas in places like Osage City and Bonnots Mill if they could get through the roads. Most of the flooding has occurred in the typical places we see along the Moreau and Osage rivers."
Farr also said Ameren Missouri officials told him they weren't planning to release any water through the Bagnell Dam into the Osage River, which could cause higher river levels in Jefferson City. The utility owns the dam at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Additional resources:
Ameren's Truman and Bagnall Dam daily report