Record weather dumped nearly 10 inches of rain in three days and led to flooding as part of the wettest December ever in Texas County.
Tragedy avoided the area as one man escaped injury when his vehicle was swept off Lone Star Drive early Monday morning. But it struck in neighboring counties as six people were swept away in vehicles in Pulaski County, including four international soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood. A fifth is missing. An Ava man drowned in Douglas County.
The record rainfall forced the Missouri Department of Transportation to close 285 roads statewide. In southern Missouri, I-44 was shut down at Jerome — forcing traffic through Texas County on U.S. 63 to U.S. 60.
The Springfield office of the National Weather Service predicted prior to the weather arriving that flooding could exceed that seen in spring 2008 and 2011 floods. On Monday, it said it had received the most rain ever recorded in December. By noon, it had measured 11.15 inches. The record of 11.02 inches was set in 1895. Officials said 9.6 inches fell Saturday through Monday.
Similar records were set for December at Joplin and Vichy-Rolla. It was the third wettest December on record at West Plains.
On Sunday afternoon, it looked like the region might have dodged a bullet as extreme flooding didn’t materialize. That changed overnight as residents found some roads and bridges closed and streams out of their banks during the morning drive to work. At one time, eight Texas County highways were closed, including U.S. 63 near Highway H for nearly one hour as the Big Piney River stretched onto the highway.
MoDOT closed the West Highway 32 bridge at the Big Piney River on Monday –– a rarity, according to local residents. Pamela Wallace, who lives nearby, said the structure had never been closed as long as this time.
“The last time we had this kind of raise on the river that lasted this long was in 1981 in December,” she said. “At that time, the family lived in a two-story house by the old Mason Bridge, and about four feet of water entered the house.”
Homes, businesses and some governmental buildings also had problems with the heavy rainfall reaching their interiors. About two inches were reported in the basement of the Texas County Administrative Center.
The Texas County Office of Emergency Management is seeking reports of individuals or businesses who received flood damage. Director Bennie Cook said anyone with information related to roads, bridges, small businesses and homes should contact him at 417-967-0720.