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

rasperry_mar_28_2011.jpg
 
15.4 ft

9/30

river_sep30_2.jpg
 
13.5 ft

9/29

river_sep29_2.jpg
 
11.3 ft

9/28

river_1225p_sep_28_2.jpg
 
9.2 ft

9/27

river_1225p_sep_27_2.jpg
Wabasha St. Bridge
18.5 ft

3/28/11

wabasha_mar_28_2011.jpg
 
15.4 ft

9/30

river_sep30_1.jpg
 
13.5 ft

9/29

river_sept29_1.jpg
 
11.3 ft

9/28

river_1225p_sep_28_1.jpg
 
9.2 ft

9/27

flood_miss_sep_27_2010_2.jpg