Skip linksSkip to Content
play
Live
Navigation menu
  • News
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • US & Canada
    • Latin America
    • Europe
    • Asia Pacific
  • Middle East
  • Explained
  • Opinion
  • Sport
  • Video
    • Features
    • Economy
    • Human Rights
    • Climate Crisis
    • Investigations
    • Interactives
    • In Pictures
    • Science & Technology
    • Podcasts
play
Live

In Pictures

Gallery|Climate Crisis

US spring floods become a summer deluge

A persistent jet stream pattern adds heavy rain to snow melt with three major rivers now in significant flood.

Cars sit in floodwater from the Mississippi River on May 30, 2019 in Saint Mary, Missouri.
Cars sit in floodwaters from the Mississippi River on May 30, 2019 in Saint Mary, Missouri. [Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP]
Published On 1 Jun 20191 Jun 2019
facebooktwitterwhatsappcopylink

A slow-motion disaster is worsening in the central US. The spring thaw and more recent heavy downpours from repeated thunderstorms have broken both flood and rainfall records, many decades old. 

The middle section of the country has been experiencing major flooding since mid-March, especially along the Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi Rivers. Towns along the Mississippi have been experiencing the longest stretch of major flooding in nearly a century.

The city of Morrilton, that sits on a bend in the Arkansas River has not seen water levels this high since the Great Flood of 1927, according to Weather Underground.

For the first time, the US Army Corps has had to fully open all gates of the Ozark Lock and Dam near the town of Ozark, Arkansas, to allow the swollen river to move freely through the structure.

The Arkansas River has also reached its highest level since 1943 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, because of heavy rain upstream in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas.

The Missouri River is at its highest level since 1995 in Jefferson City, Missouri. Next week, as the flood moves downstream, St Louis will see the second major crest of the Mississippi River in just under a month. This crest is expected to be higher than that of the Mississippi River flood of 1973 and come close to the Great Flood of 1993.

“The current flood fight is historic and unprecedented,” said a US Army Corps statement. Monday was the 214th day of the flood fight and “is expected to surpass the 1973 event (225 days) as the longest flood fight,” the statement said.

The persistent jet stream pattern in the skies above the US is finally changing, reducing the risk of repetitive downpours. Big thunderstorms will still build and will bring flash flooding so the runoff alone may continue to aggravate this historic flood season.

The new method of transport on Highway 61. Ryan Sizemore paddles down the road with his dog Rico, carrying sandbags to his home to hold back the Mississippi River. Barnhart, Missouri.
A new method of transport on Highway 61. Ryan Sizemore paddles down the road with his dog Rico, carrying sandbags to his home to hold back the Mississippi River in Barnhart, Missouri. [Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP]
Advertisement
Sand Springs, Oklahoma, U.S. is pictured after the Arkansas River flooded on May 30, 2019.
Sand Springs, Oklahoma, US, is pictured before the Arkansas River flooded. August 2018. [Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies via Reuters]
Sand Springs, Oklahoma, U.S. is pictured after the Arkansas River flooded on May 30, 2019.
Sand Springs, Oklahoma, US, is pictured after the Arkansas River flooded. May 30, 2019. [Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies via Reuters]
The consequences of building in a flood plain. A building sits submerged in the flood waters of the Arkansas River in this aerial photo in Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S., May 30, 2019.
The consequences of building in a flood plain. A building sits submerged in the flood waters of the Arkansas River in this aerial photo in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on May 30, 2019. [ Drone Base via Reuters]
The Mississippi River rises in downtown Alton, Illinois
The Mississippi River rises in downtown Alton, Illinois on May 31, 2019 [Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP]
A worker ferries supplies through floodwater from the Mississippi River across Highway 100 to Ardent Mills in Alton, Illinois.
A worker ferries supplies through floodwaters from the Mississippi River across Highway 100 to Ardent Mills in Alton, Illinois. [Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP]
Advertisement
An impassable ford on this road now submerged in the flood waters of the Arkansas River. Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S.
An impassable ford has replaced this road now submerged in the floodwaters of the Arkansas River. Fort Smith, Arkansas [Drone Base via Reuters]
No football today. Swimming gala anyone? Crystal City High School football field Missouri.
No football today. Swimming gala anyone? Crystal City High School football field Missouri. [Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP]


    • About Us
    • Code of Ethics
    • Terms and Conditions
    • EU/EEA Regulatory Notice
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Cookie Preferences
    • Sitemap
    • Work for us
    • Contact Us
    • User Accounts Help
    • Advertise with us
    • Stay Connected
    • Newsletters
    • Channel Finder
    • TV Schedule
    • Podcasts
    • Submit a Tip
    • Al Jazeera Arabic
    • Al Jazeera English
    • Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
    • Al Jazeera Mubasher
    • Al Jazeera Documentary
    • Al Jazeera Balkans
    • AJ+
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Studies
    • Al Jazeera Media Institute
    • Learn Arabic
    • Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights
    • Al Jazeera Forum
    • Al Jazeera Hotel Partners

Follow Al Jazeera English:

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • instagram-colored-outline
  • rss
Al Jazeera Media Network logo
© 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network