Tagged: rain

Heavy rainfall across Missouri has caused flash flooding and road closures in Boone County and could cause flooding along the Mississippi.

Heavy rain throughout Mid-Missouri is causing flooding in many areas, and storms are expected to continue throughout Friday. Boone County Emergency Management keeps a live-updated list of road closures, which you can check here at any time for the latest information. As of 7:30am Friday morning, 18 roads were closed in Boone County due to flooding. The Missouri Department of Transportation's traveler information map is also worth checking before heading out on the road today.

After several days of heavy rain across the lower Missouri River basin, the amount of water released into the river is being reduced to help minimize flooding.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it began reducing the amount of water flowing into the Missouri River on Sunday because of concerns about flooding downstream. On Sunday, the Corps decreased the amount of water being released from Gavins Point Dam, located on the South Dakota-Nebraska state line, from 24,000 cubic feet per second to 12,000 cubic feet per second.

“… that will help the peak stages on the river in some locations and also shorten the duration of the high flows,” the Corps’ Jody Farhat said.

The Columbia/Boone County’s Office of Emergency Management is urging those out celebrating Memorial Day today to use caution, especially when driving, after recent rains have flooded some area roads.

Residents are advised to pay attention to flash flood warnings that have been issued for the area, and to –  “turn around, don’t drown” rather than attempting to drive through flooded areas.