As the recent rains have begun to taper off, most Mid-Missouri rivers have crested and begun to return to normal levels. And some roads that were closed due to flooding have been reopened.
The Moreau River was expected to drop quickly to 5 feet Thursday night through this morning, according to the National Weather Service in St. Louis. The river was at 19 feet Thursday afternoon. On Thursday morning, it was at 25.5 feet, which is 8 feet above flood stage.
Meanwhile, the Osage River was staying high enough to close streets in Osage City. The 9500 block of Engineers Road, 9200 block of Railroad Street and 2100 block of Water Street were closed Thursday afternoon, according to the Cole County Public Works Department.
On Thursday afternoon, the Osage River at the Mari-Osa Delta was at 25.2 feet and was expected to gradually fall over the weekend, weather service officials forecast. By Sunday night, it was expected to go below flood stage of 19 feet.
For the Missouri River in Jefferson City, the NWS forecast called for the river to crest at 28.3 this afternoon, just more than 5 feet above the flood stage of 23 feet. The forecast was for the river to go below flood stage Monday morning.
"A lot of this recent rain has fallen to the south of the Missouri River system and that's helped," U.S. Corps of Engineers spokesman James Lowe said. "So far, our observers have not detected any problems with levees along the Missouri. Our reservoir system near Kansas City is holding back water from the Kansas River as it goes into the Missouri at Kansas City, and that helps control the river flow."
The NWS forecast called for "off and on" rain throughout today before a break in the rain was called for through Monday morning.
With the rivers beginning to recede, some roads reopened Thursday to traffic in Cole County.
Among the roads being reopened were: the 8700 block of Payne Road, 5500 block of Loesch Road, 5900 block of Bainer Road and 3100 block of Zion Road, all of which are along or near the Moreau River. Other roads that reopened were the 6100 block of Buffalo Road and 7400 block of Vaughn Ford Road.
Roads in the county that remain closed due to high water included: the 1400 block of Waterford Road, 1300 block of Murphy's Ford Road, 2800 block of Meadowsford Road and 11100 block of North Branch Road.
Cole County Emergency Management Director Bill Farr said there had been no damage reports received due to the flooding and he had been told by Ameren Missouri officials the gates at Bagnell Dam would not be opened as water levels at the Lake of the Ozarks were stable.