Just three days after ascending to record levels and forcing hundreds of people from their homes, the Meramec River in suburban St. Louis is already back below flood stage in two hard-hit towns.
The Mississippi River tributary reached 4 feet above the previous record at some spots on Thursday, causing damage to hundreds of homes and precautionary evacuations of hundreds more.
It fell almost as fast as it rose. The National Weather Service says the river is now well below flood stage in Pacific and Eureka, and just 4 feet above flood stage in Valley Park.
Arnold still has concerns because it is closest to the Mississippi and water from the bigger river continues to back up into the Meramec at that point.
