2008 FLOOD REPORTS:
Snow packs and massive rains are wreaking havoc along rivers in the Midwest.
A new USGS real time map of cresting rivers...Frequent Updates on the Mississippi River Blog.
What's different about flooding in Spring of '08 and the floods of June-August 1993? DURATION is the key. The flooding we see occurring on the Lower River right now is more typical of life on the river... it comes up and it goes down. If it rains in the north, when the snow melts, the south feels the effects as the Missouri, the Upper Mississippi, and the Ohio converge. The difference is that in 1993, it rained for 58 days straight throughout the Midwest. The river... simply... never... went... down!
Statistics, Stories, and Chronology from the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1993
© 1996 Heritage Press/Great River Publishing. All rights reservedClick here, "disasters" for more stories related to disasters related to Mississippi River natural history
1993 Mississippi Flood CHRONOLOGY
March 10
The National Weather Service predicts below normal precipitation for the summer: “but above average rainfall could mean flooding, given soil saturation, spring snow depths, and normal spring rains.”
June 10
The first 8” rainstorms begin in Dakotas, Wisconsin and Minnesota
June 20
The first dam bursts, submerging 100 homes to their rooftops on the Black River in Western Wisconsin. The upper 200 miles of the Mississippi River are closed to river traffic. Locks and Dams are not operating.
July 5
The bridge at Keokuk closes.
July 10
The bridge closes at Fort Madison, Iowa, which has experienced rain for 54 of 58 days. 830 miles of Mississippi River are closed to boat traffic between Cairo, Illinois and St. Paul, Minnesota. Over 100 rivers feeding into the Mississippi River flood by July 14. Unprecedented high-water on the Missouri River, Des Moines River, Illinois, Iowa, Skunk, Rock and Raccoon rivers (all tributaries of the Mississippi River) promote the massive flooding of the Mississippi River.
July 16
The last Quincy, Illinois, bridge is closed, leaving no bridge between Alton, Illinois and Burlington, Iowa. The Mississippi River is flooded to seven miles inland.
July 24
The Mississippi River at Quincy crests at a record 32 feet.
August 2
The Mississippi River crests at 49.7 feet in St. Louis, Missouri. Eleven times the volume of Niagara Falls is flowing under Eads Bridge; enough to fill Busch stadium every 65 seconds.
August 24
The Mississippi River locks reopen to commercial river traffic.
August 30
The Des Moines River floods again, after another 10 inches of rain falls. The Mississippi River stays open.
Sandbags and Stuff
(Statistics collected from various regional newspaper sources.)
- Estimated that two truckloads of sand (a little less than fifty tons) will fill 4000 sandbags.
- More than 26.5 million sandbags were used in towns along the Mississippi River during the Flood of 1993
- Approximately 927 million pounds of sand was used to fill those sandbags
- Homeowners had to fill their own sandbags
- In all, 150 primary and secondary levees failed during the summer.
- 12 billion dollars in damages
- 48 deaths
- nine states involved
- 1 inch of water on an acre of land equals 27,143 gallons.
What Happened
to cause so much rain in 1993?
Rain, too much rain, was the root of the problems. By July 15th, every area had a least twice its normal rainfall, some had six times as much. A high pressure system in the Southeast forced Gulf air to move north, hitting cool Northwest air. It stalled right there, continuing to produce massive rainfalls. It was the wettest June and July since 1895. There were twelve major storms with rainfalls of 6 to 12 inches, 16,000 square miles of farmland were under water. Seventeen million acres were inundated during the flood.
Flood Projections for 1996: April 2, 1996
The National Weather Service issued a revised report on the potential for spring flooding on the Mississippi River. The report is considered to be a “worst case scenario” and projects that if normal precipitation falls and average temperatures prevail in the coming weeks, the Mississippi River could crest in La Crosse, Wisconsin at 15.5 feet…. 3.5 feet above the Mississippi River’s flood stage. If little precipitation falls in coming weeks, the crest could be lower, at 13 feet. Heavy snow that fell over most of Minnesota and Wisconsin last week motivated the revised report. In addition, cold temperatures have delayed the snow melt, increasing the chances for a rapid melt in the north during April.
INSIGHT FEATURE: Remembering Valmeyer, Illinois and the 1993 Mississippi River Flood.
You may also be interested in other disasters related to Mississippi River natural history...
August 19, 2007, always be remembered as the night of the 1000-Year Rain Fall. Click for photos, stats, and stories.
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