In the greater St. Louis area, about 6-10 inches of rain fell between midnight and 6 a.m., according to the weather service. 911 calls in St. Louis County came in for “multiple people who were stuck” in floodwaters, the county’s emergency management office said “We urge everyone to avoid travel!” the office posted on Twitter, adding that central parts of the county were most affected. Vehicles were reported submerged or stuck on flooded roads in various parts of the St. Louis area, the weather service said shortly after 6:30 a.m. In the city itself, fire personnel checked about 18 flooded homes and rescued six people and six dogs by boat, the city’s fire department said early Tuesday. In suburban University City, a rescue from a stranded vehicle was reported early Tuesday, the weather service said. Motorists are being asked to avoid I-70 in the St. Louis area due to flooding, the state highway patrol said. At least one section of I-70 — in St. Peters, about 30 miles northwest of St. Louis — was reported closed in both directions, the weather service said. “Many areas of St. Charles and St. Louis counties are experiencing flash flooding. Specifically I-70!” said the patrol. “Avoid this freeway and use alternate routes this morning. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads.” at least one shutdown early Tuesday, CNN affiliate KMOV reported. Rainfall this heavy in the St. Louis area occurs only once every 500 years, on average, according to weather service data. But the climate crisis is pushing these extremes to become more frequent and increasing rainfall around the world. The atmosphere can hold more moisture as temperatures rise, making major records even more likely to be broken. More water vapor in the atmosphere means more moisture available to fall as rain, which leads to higher rainfall rates. Anthropogenic fossil fuel emissions have warmed the planet by just over 1 degree Celsius, on average, with more intense warming in land areas. Scientists are increasingly certain of the role the climate crisis is playing in extreme weather and have warned that these events will become more intense and more dangerous with every fraction of a degree of warming. CNN’s Judson Jones, Dave Hennen, Angela Fritz and Raja Razek contributed to this report.
