It took some time to get there and there were some inconveniences along the way, but the mighty Mississippi River is headed back to normal after cresting at 19.35 feet on June 29 and 30 this last weekend. That does not mean that Hastings’ area residents are out of the woods yet.
There are several stages of river flooding, for the Mississippi River in Hastings the action stage starts at 13 feet. 15 feet is considered minor flooding, 17 feet is moderate, 18 feet and beyond is major flooding. We hit the major flood stage around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday June 27, just one week ago. On June 18th at 4:30 p.m. the river was at 12.38 feet, the lowest point since June 2’s 11.15 feet. Typically, the river depth ranges from nine to eleven feet. Keep in mind, the record flood was 25.9 feet on April 17, 1965.
The river could still see a bit of a secondary surge if the forecast is accurate. The forecast is calling for over an inch of rain on July 4 and the total rainfall for the 4th and 5th is nearly 1.5 inches of rain. Thankfully, many of the areas in Hastings have had a few days of sun and wind to kickstart the drying of the ground, but is it enough to absorb another inch to inch and a half? That is yet to be seen.
With the river levels expected to be returning back to normal soon, please remember to give officials time to examine the flooded roadways to make sure nothing was negatively impacted from the waters. They need to make sure the sub surface is safe for vehicular travel before opening the road back up to traffic. Just like during the flooded stage, please do not drive around road closing barriers.
Keep an eye on the Journal’s Facebook page, Hastings Journal, for any last-minute changes needed to the details of the flooding and for additional photos of the flood.