Mississippi flooding comparison

By now, perhaps, you’ve discovered MPR’s latest blog. The Minnesota Floods ’11 blog is posting updates from around the region.

I’ve been trying to assemble a pictorial guide to river levels with a little bit of success. When we media types throw around “flood level” numbers, it’s hard to know what it means in “real life.” If you live near a river, consider taking a snapshot each day (from roughly the same position) and sending it to me, documenting what time you took the picture. It’ll help the project to expand the number of locations.

I started last fall with the Mississippi River as it flows through St. Paul. What I’ve learned is a three-foot rise in the river level to major flood stage is nowhere near as dramatic as it sounds. Here’s the latest:

Raspberry Island
18.5 ft 3/28/11
15.4 ft 9/30
13.5 ft 9/29
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27

Wabasha St. Bridge
18.5 ft 3/28/11
15.4 ft 9/30
13.5 ft 9/29
11.3 ft 9/28
9.2 ft 9/27