1947 — May-July, flooding, rivers in middle West in lower MO/middle MS River basins — 16
–16 EDS/NOAA. “Losses in Individual Severe Floods…[US] since July 1902.” CDNS, 22/13, 1971, p.791.
Narrative Information
Environmental Data Service, NOAA. Climatological Data National Summary V22, N13, 1971.
“May-July 1947…Rivers in middle West in the lower Missouri and middle Mississippi River basins…29 [lives lost]…235,000 [property losses].
[Blanchard note 1: We deduct from the 29 deaths noted here the 13 deaths we separately list for June 23 flash flooding along the Republican River, from Cambridge to Orleans, Nebraska. We do not know with certainty that these deaths are included in the 29 noted, but note that the Republican River is considered to be within the Missouri River basin.]
[Blanchard note 2: We show the time-frame as June-July in that the Monthly Weather Review for July 1947 (p. 126) includes a multi-column discussion on the “June-July Flood in the Midwest.”]
Jordan, C. R. “June-July Flood in the Midwest,” Monthly Weather Review:
“During the early morning hours of July 2, 1947, the crest of the most disastrous flood of record passed St. Louis, Mo., with the stage of the Mississippi River at 40.3 feet. This stage at St. Louis has been exceeded only by the great flood of 1844. The crest at St. Louis followed a month of serious floods in the lower Missouri and middle Mississippi River Valleys. Record stages were reached on many streams, including the Des Moines, Raccoon, Platte, and Grand Rivers in Missouri, and at a few stations on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Several crests were reported on many streams during June. Preliminary estimates indicated that damage caused by the floods to crops, roads, bridges, and private property exceeded 100 million dollars. Several lives were lost, and millions of tons of valuable soil were lost from Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska in the form of erosion. The exact loss resulting from the, floods will be difficult to evaluate. A prolonged period of recurring heavy rainfall maintained severe floods in most of the streams of Iowa, Nebraska, northern Kansas, and Missouri during June. Precipitation over most of this area averaged from 2 to 4 times the usual amount received during June. A few stations in Iowa and Missouri reported monthly totals exceeding 20 inches. Lathrop, Mo., had 23.60 inches during June.
“Upper Mississippi Basin. – Severe overflow occurred on the Mississippi River from Keokuk, Iowa, to the mouth of the Ohio River….
“Two or more crests approaching or exceeding previous high staged were reached on the Cedar, Iowa, Skunk, Raccoon, and Des Moines Rivers. At Des Moines, Iowa, the crest was about 1 foot below the highwater of 1903; but at Boone, Iowa, the 1903 flood was exceeded slightly.
“The Mississippi River crested at St. Louis, Mo., at 40.26 feet on July 2. This flood exceeded at St. Louis those of 1943 and 1944 by more than a foot and was exceeded only by the flood of 1844, which reached 41.39 feet….
“The Ohio River remained at moderate stages throughout the flood period, and the flood in the Mississippi flattened off rapidly below the mouth of the Ohio….” (Jordan. “June-July Flood in the Midwest,” Monthly Weather Review, American Meteorological Society, July 1947, p. 126.)
Sources
Environmental Data Service, NOAA. “Losses in Individual Severe Floods in the United States since July 1902.” Climatological Data National Summary (Annual) Vol. 22. No. 13, 1971. Accessed 4-26-2023 at:
Jordan, C. R. “June-July Flood in the Midwest,” Monthly Weather Review, American Meteorological Society, July 1947, pp. 126-128. Accessed 10-27-2023 at: https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/mwre/75/7/1520-0493_1947_075_0126_rsaffj_2_0_co_2.xml