As areas upstream on the Missouri River in Nebraska and Iowa are facing major flooding and destruction of homes, in the Kansas City area the current projection is that the river will crest just below flood stage on Friday.
According to Army Corps of Engineers officials, the Missouri River currently is cresting at Omaha, Nebraska, and that area should go below flood stage on Saturday. Officials listed nine breaches or overtoppings of levees south of Omaha. Omaha has been in flood stage since March 16.
Hamburg, Iowa, was particularly hard hit by the flooding, as temporary barriers were overcome by high water, according to officials.
The river is expected to crest in St. Joseph, Missouri, and Atchison, Kansas, on Thursday, officials said. The river is currently in moderate flood stage at St. Joseph and is projected to go into major flood stage on Wednesday. In Atchison, Kansas, the river is currently in moderate flood stage and is projected to go into major flood stage on Wednesday.
On Friday, the river should crest in Leavenworth, Kansas, Parkville, Missouri, and Kansas City, according to officials. In Leavenworth, the river is currently in moderate flood stage at 25.45 feet, where flood stage is 20 feet. It is projected to crest at 28.7 feet, still in moderate flood stage, on Thursday and Friday.
The Missouri River at Parkville was at 29.92 feet at 7:45 p.m. Monday, where flood stage is 25 feet. The river is expected to stay in the moderate flood stage when it crests at 32.4 feet on Thursday and Friday, according to hydrology charts.
The current river levels forecast included a small amount of rain, perhaps a fourth of an inch, expected to fall Tuesday, forecasters said. The daily levee overtoppings and breaches on the Missouri River also are changing the river level forecasts.
Currently, the Missouri River at Kansas City was at 29.49 feet at 5:30 p.m. Monday, where flood stage is 32 feet. The river is projected to rise to 31.3 feet on Friday. Those projections are subject to change, according to officials.
The Missouri River at Parkville, Missouri, which is across from Kansas City, Kansas, is currently in moderate flood stage, according to hydrology charts.
When it gets past this weekend, the Kansas City area and the Midwest will not be totally out of flooding risk, as more snow melt is projected around the beginning of April, according to officials. Snow melt upstream is expected to affect the Big Sioux, James and Vermillion rivers, and water will enter the Missouri River from these rivers unregulated at a point below the Gavins Point dam, according to officials.
Officials said they expected a renewed risk of flooding in April, with the snow melt runoff and the active precipitation pattern over the next month.
The Corps of Engineers currently is reducing the release of water from the Gavins Point Dam. On Sunday evening, the releases were reduced to 43,000 cubic feet per second.
However, the inflows of water did not decline as much as expected, and instead of reducing the release of water to 33,000 cfs as planned this morning, the releases were reduced to 38,000 cfs. At 6 p.m. Monday night, the releases were reduced another 5,000 cfs. The release amounts will be re-evaluated again on Tuesday morning, officials said.
As a result of the increased inflow to Gavins Point, the Corps of Engineers has reduced the releases from Fort Randall to zero.
