April showers bring May flowers - and flooding. Our Mighty Mississippi River is full right now. Flood stage here in downtown is 32 feet. The projected crest, which is the highest level the river is projected to reach, is 43 feet. Unfortunately, for heartland residents this is nothing new.

1937
The flood of 1937 caused $20 million in damage, the equivalent of more than $300 million in today's dollars. Thousands of people were left homeless and displaced for months, some forever. Tent cities, areas of high ground where people congregated to seek shelter, popped up across the area. For the first time since its construction in the early 1930's, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided it was necessary to open the Birds Point Levee and help alleviate flooding pressure along the river. Cleanup throughout the Southeast Missouri area lasted for years and historians refer to this event as one of the greatest natural disasters in the country's history.

 1943
Like the major flood six years prior, the flood of 1943 was huge. The Mississippi crested at 42.4 feet in May of that year; 10.4 feet above flood stage. Just like before, thousands were displaced from their homes, WWII efforts were disrupted and livelihoods were ruined. In response to the widespread devastation, Congress passed the Flood Control Act in 1944 authorizing numerous flood control and water development projects to aid in the management of these efforts down the road.

1993
Crazy events culminated in the Flood of '93 because our area really didn't receive that much rain. Snow melt combined with an excessive amount of rain to the north caused our waters to rise excessively. The river first crept above above flood stage on March 7 and remained above this level for 126 consecutive days. Sandbaggers and pumps worked tirelessly for weeks trying to keep water out of our area. The entire affected area included the states of: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois. Approximately fifty flood deaths occurred and damages approached the $15 billion mark.

Our immediate forecast is iffy on the chance of rain. We'll just have to wait and see what Mother Nature decides to pass our way.
Photos courtesy of Chris Shivelbine, Southeast Missourian and UMSL

I have never intentionally watched a sunrise. I told some friends this over frozen yogurt this summer, and they were all astonished. Apparently it’s a must, and shameful to have not participated in this activity after twenty-seven years of inhabiting the Earth. So we went on bantering about how we would all watch one together soon.

Well… life as it does, passed by quickly and plans were never made; that is until yesterday when I had the bright idea to watch my first sunrise in the deep cold of winter. I convinced my friend, Jessica, to get up with me this morning, and when she agreed I told her she just earned the Friend of the Year Award.

I picked Jessica up at 6:15 this morning. She met me at my car with two thermoses full of fresh hot tea called “Comfort & Joy”. How cute (and needed for 7 degree weather)! We drove towards downtown, so we could watch the sunrise come up over the Mississippi River and decided the top of the county courthouse stairs would be perfect. We hopped out of the car around 6:20, and the freezing began.
 
At first I was so excited to be outside waiting for the sun. There was a line of orange on the horizon, but aside from that it was still a dark, blue-black outside and all of the streetlights were still twinkling. As minutes passed, the sky became lighter and brighter, but still no sun. After 15 minutes the truth set in: 7 degree weather is COLD. Our spirits were still high though. We ran around to stay warm and enjoyed the sounds of a band practicing for the Slapowitz party in a bar below for a KFVS12 Breakfast Show segment.

Come 7:00 we were ready for the sun. I was yelling, “Come out sun” with some serious authority and almost thought it would listen. Our fingers were starting to hurt from the cold, and when 7:03 passed (the time Google said the sun would come up) we decided to go watch the sunrise from the car.

As soon as the decision was made we started sprinting for the car – frozen fingers and all. On the way, Jess dropped her phone and when she picked it up she accidentally pressed something and her phone began playing, “Your Love is a Song” by Switchfoot. We turned around a couple of seconds later (before we reached my car), and the sun was rising. We rushed back to our original spot to get photos, and Jess let the song play on through the sunrise. At the time, I thought she played it on purpose because it was so perfect, but later she told me it was a total accident.

We scurried around, listening to the perfect song on accident and captured some beautiful photos from the tippy top of downtown. It was the perfect way to start the morning, and the perfect place to do so. We stood with a courthouse that had seen many beautiful sunrises, and for the first time I enjoyed one with it.