By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Steady rainfall over the last few days has swelled rivers and streams in northwest Missouri, including the 102 River.
A Flood Warning remains in effect for the 102 River at Rosendale, affecting Andrew and Buchanan counties until Tuesday evening.
The river will crest just above the flood stage of 18 feet Monday before going back down Monday night into Tuesday.
National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Bowman from the Pleasant Hill office says the recent rains from over the weekend and any more rain that falls this week will largely impact the smaller streams and tributaries.
"It's more like multiple rounds of moderate rain," Bowman said. "The flood threat will be more into the area creeks and streams and rivers."
Monday also brings the first chance of severe weather to the area. There is a marginal risk for severe storms along and south of Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area.
Bowman says the best time frame for severe storms Monday would be between 3-9 p.m.
"The most likely hazard will be hail up to the size of quarters," he said. "Although, with the setup that we have, we can't rule out a brief tornado. We're moving into the beginning of severe weather season. As we move deeper into March, April and May, the weather can evolve pretty quickly. So, just keep an eye on the sky and be weather aware."
Damaging winds are also possible Monday evening.
As of Monday, St. Joseph reported an 1.55" of rain over the last 24 hours, with Savannah reporting an 1.46" and Doniphan, KS getting 1.39."
While Kansas and Missouri have gotten rain, far western Nebraska, Colorado and portions of Iowa saw extremely high snowfall totals over the weekend.
Denver reported two feet of snow, while Cheyenne, WY reported three feet. Portions of the Nebraska panhandle saw about 1.5 feet.
Bowman says it was all part of the same storm system.
"Out in western Nebraska, some crazy snow amounts if you think about it," Bowman said. "Not usually something we see around here."