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Thursday's flooding has claimed one life. Police report that an 80-year-old Jefferson County woman after she was caught in a flash flood.

The woman was driving in DeSoto when it appears her car was swept off the road by flood waters. No more information on the woman's death has been released.

Nearly two dozen other drivers in Jefferson County were saved after becoming stuck in the water. 

 

Flooding is the major concern after more than two inches of rain has fallen in the St. Louis area in just the past day.

Jefferson County officials have issued an emergency evacuation advisory. They are encouraging anyone near a body of water to immediately seek higher ground. 

Residents of De Soto, Missouri reporting that several city buildings, including the fire department, are flooded and roads are impassable. Emergency crews continue their work to rescue people trapped in their cars.

A section of I-70 flooded near Highland, Illinois, and forced authorities to close an the exit ramp onto Route 143.

In the more immediate metro area, there are reports of flooding on low-lying roads, including Wild Horse Creek Road in West County. 

KTRS News spoke to MoDOT about some tips to keep you safe on the roads. If it seems like a water-covered roadway is shallow enough to drive across--don't do it! Do not drive through flooded areas. And the best way to avoid hydroplaning is to slow down.

MoDOT also has up-to-date road information here.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Forecasters are predicting minor to moderate flooding in central and eastern Missouri as heavy rains cause the Missouri River to rise up to 15 feet in coming days.

On Friday, the river is expected to crest about 3 feet above flood stage in Glasgow and 5 feet above flood stage in Boonville. By Saturday afternoon, forecasters say the river will surpass flood stage by about 3.5 feet in Jefferson City and 8 feet in Chamois.

On Sunday morning, the river is expected to exceed the flood stage by about 8 feet in Hermann and about 5 feet in Washington.

Two Missouri River tributaries, the Grand and Chariton rivers, also are expected to rise above flood stage. Major flooding is forecast Thursday for Prairie Hill and Chillicothe.

The National Weather Service has lifted a tornado watch for St. Charles County, St. Louis County and St. Louis City.

Variable clouds and becoming windy with rain and a few thunderstorms - possibly severe this afternoon. Storms may produce large hail and strong winds. High 67F. SSW winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Additional rainfall may reach one inch.

Tonight:

Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 36F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph

 

 

A tornado watch has been issued for a good chunk of Missouri, including the entire listening area.

This is the first warning in what is expected to be a day of turbulent weather. Although this first warning does not include communities across the river in Illinois, they are not out of the woods--more warnings and watches could be issued today.

The tornado watch expires at 10PM and a watch means that conditions are favorable for a tornado to develop, but none have been spotted.

Complete List of Included Counties:

Missouri counties included are Audrain Barry Barton Bates Benton Boone Buchanan Caldwell Callaway Camden Carroll Cass Cedar Chariton Christian Clay Clinton Cole Cooper Crawford Dade Dallas Douglas Franklin Gasconade Greene Henry Hickory Howard Jackson Jasper Jefferson Johnson Laclede Lafayette Lawrence Lincoln Linn Livingston Macon Maries Marion Mcdonald Miller Moniteau Monroe Montgomery Morgan Newton Osage Pettis Phelps Pike Platte Polk Pulaski Ralls Randolph Ray Saline Shelby St. Charles St. Clair St. Louis Stone Taney Vernon Warren Washington Webster Wright Missouri independent cities included are St. Louis City.

Counties included in Illinois:

IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS

CALHOUN IL GREENE IL JERSEY IL MACOUPIN IL

IN WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS

ADAMS IL BROWN IL PIKE IL

Less than two weeks ago, the region was hit with a foot of snow. This weekend highs in the 70's are expected. What does the weather roller coast bring next? 

 

The Climate Predication Center forecasts a pretty standard April for St. Louis, with what they call an equal chance for precipitation. Julie Phillipson with the National Weather Service tells KTRS News, that means there is an even chance for more, less, or average amounts of rainfall, but it doesn't rule out severe weather.

 

"It is Spring an generally during the spring, especially in this part of the country, we do see a rise in thunderstorms climatologically, so we will be seeing those more and more often as we move further into the spring months", says Phillipson.

 

Rain and storms are expected to move into the area late this weekend and stick around through early next week.

 

ST. LOUIS -- AP -- Another wet weekend has caused a renewed rise of Midwestern rivers, creating flooding that is an ironic end to a winter spent fretting about drought.

Parts of eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois were hardest hit by rain that began Saturday afternoon and fell through Sunday. Potosi, Mo., got 4.4 inches of rain, Randolph County, Ill., 4.1 inches, Farmington, Mo., 3.9 inches. Combined with heavy rain the previous weekend and two big snows in the weeks before that, all the water is causing rivers to rise.

The National Weather Service cites several rivers at or near flood stage in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Indiana and Iowa. A man was rescued from his flooded car in Perry County, Mo., Sunday. Dozens of roads and thousands of acres of farm land are under water.

Air travelers might want to check on any connecting flights before heading out of Lambert Airport.

Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea tells KTRS news 16 arrivals have been cancelled as of 10:00 a.m.and 19 departures cancelled, the majority from Chicago.

If you're heading north or east or have a connecting flight through Chicago, airlines are canceling nearly 1,000 flights at Chicago's two airports because of a winter storm that's expected to dump up to 10 inches of snow on northern Illinois.

Most the canceled flights are at O'Hare International Airport.

That major winter storm is threatening to bring blizzard conditions to the north and central portion of Missouri--hitting Kansas City hard and in other parts of the central Plains today. 

Kansas City leaders are  telling people to move their cars off the street or they'll be towed. This snow plow driver says cars parked haphazardly have made it been difficult to clear the streets. "It's not that we haven't tried or haven't been there. Just a lot of times we get there and we can't get through."

 Kansas City - which got a foot of snow last week - could get another 15 inches staring Monday afternoon Jesse Bustamonte was out with a shovel clearing a storm drain in front of his house Sunday. "I had to dig out a friend of mine. Every time he tried to move he was spinning his wheels because of the ice. So it was dig out and move, dig out and move."

The National Weather Service in Dodge City, Kan. says there could be "upward of a foot across south-central Kansas with lesser amounts across west-central and central Kansas." The storm also could bring tornadoes to the South.