Flooding on the Missouri

[Highlander]

The West Bottoms is less affected by the level of the Missouri River short-term. The problem for the WB is if the Kansas River fills up because of a big rainstorm. The Missouri will push back the Kansas River into its channel because the mouth of the Kansas River is on the bend of the Missouri where the pressure from the Missouri will be greater.  If the rain storm is also here in Kansas City, we will also have the problem of Turkey Creek flowing into the Kansas River. The pumps may not be able to handle it.

Of course, if the Ft. Peck dam fails, it's anyone's guess what is going to happen.

The Kansas River does not even need a big rainstorm.  As the Missouri rises, the Kansas River has to rise to keep pace, it will be as high as the Missouri until a point upstream is reached where the river is already at the elevation of the Missouri in flood stage.  Given the low gradient of the Kansas River near its mouth, it could back up pretty far upstream which would mean high water for the west bottoms. 

[FangKC]

True dat.

And it's usually the levees along the Kansas River in the West Bottoms that fail before water comes in from the Missouri north of Woodswether Road.

[ThaMexican]

Would it be possible to have Southwest Blvd flooded?

[FangKC]

Very possible.

[knucklehead]

My brother works for Burlington Northern. His run is KC to Lincoln Nebraska.

The tracks are still open, but they have been informed they will be closed next week and will not open again until fall.

The gossip on the railroad is that the Corp of Engineers let water build up behind the upstream dams because of the flooding on the Mississippi in April and May. They did not want to add water to the system with that going on. As a result the water built up behind the dams to the extent that they no longer had a choice.

[grovester]

Guess there may be a kernal of truth to that last part as Brownback is calling for an inquiry into Corps of Engineers.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/15/29 ... quiry.html

Though if they didn't get nailed for Katrina, don't see it happening here.

[eomaha.com]

[shaffe]

For those of us not super familiar with the distant Omaha skyline, where is that pic? I'm guessing that is possibly I-29 under water there?

[eomaha.com]

You would be correct... from the north of the metro... looking south...the original river channel visible at the very top.

[mean]

How far north is it? Past where 680 splits off and heads east?

[eomaha.com]

This is closer to where the Nebraska segment of 680 joins 29... maybe 8-10 miles south of where you're thinking of... although it's pretty well flooded all the way up there.

[NDTeve]

how does this compare to 93 for Omaha?

[eomaha.com]

I don't recall the Missouri being anywhere near this swollen in '93... not up here anyway.

[eomaha.com]

Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant surrounded by water... fortunately, it's shut down while it's in one of it's every 18 month re-fueling periods... however, like the plants in Japan, Fort Calhoun stores spent fuel rods on site... depends on outside power to run to cool them.  If they lose that... I am told they have one month's worth of diesel fuel on site to power generators there.

[mean]

I imagine they should be good as long as the dams upstream hold and there's no tsunami-like wall of water plowing through the area. Not too hard to helicopter fuel in if necessary, I'd think.

[FangKC]

Flood photos around Omaha and Council Bluffs published in the Des Moines Register.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/p ... 3D1&Item=0

[FangKC]

More flood photos from the Kansas City Star.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/13/29 ... l#slide-19

[KCPowercat]

So weird...in 93 it was kinda expected with the rainy spring and summer we had...this one is all due to our northern neighbors.....strange.

[FangKC]

Two weather anomolies are responsible.  Unusually high snowfall in the Rocky Mountains last winter combined with freakishly high rainfall in the Northern Plains this Spring caused by the evil and dastardly El Nino.

[AJoD]

When I was a kid, I always heard this phrase about the Missouri River being a mile wide and an inch deep, which for whatever reason has stuck with me. It confused me some as a kid, though I have a better handle on it now.