My family got flooded out of our house twice, once in '82 and once in '94. (There was a bigger flood in '93 which missed us somehow, but then another one came in '94 and got us)

I hope you and your family were not too stressed out with getting flooded out three times. Based on the information in your 24 Jan 2007 comment, it seems to me that your home was not directly impacted by Mississippi River high water, otherwise you would have been flooded out a fourth time, in 1993, unless something else changed besides the river itself.

Nope, we only got flooded out twice.

OK, I misread. But were you flooded out by river water?

The poster "po" may be in the Meramec floodplain, as the two highest crests in the history of the Meramec occurred in 1982 and 1994. The Flood of 1993 was mainly the Mississippi and the Missouri, with the Mississippi backing up the Meramec all the way upstream to Eureka. The Flood of 1993 lasted for months, making things a big deal in Arnold, with some roads underwater all spring/summer.

There was another big flood on the Mississippi in 1995, cresting over 40 feet, if I remember correctly one of the three largest crests in history for the St. Louis gauge. That flood didn't last very long, but the high stage was impressive.

The floods are strong evidence of global warming. The overall trend of global warming is drought (note the huge droughts in the Midwest in 1995 and 1996), but when it does rain, the floods are bigger than usual. Similarly, the overall trend of global warming is warmer temperatures, but when it does get cold, the cold is more extreme. The frigid temperatures in STL right now, I consider evidence of global warming.

In addition, channelization, levees, and removal of floodplain forest creates higher crests for a given water flow, and deforestation creates a more drastic runoff creating higher peak water flow.

Only a small percentage of people in the STL area live in floodplains, and the vast majority of them CHOOSE to do so. Most are parasitic white trash who rake in all kinds of benefits, stealing tax money from the working poor who live above floodplains. In 1993, nearly 100% of the "flood victims" were racist white trash who lived near River Des Peres which was backed up by the Mississippi. A Riverfront Times article in 1993 describes a racist incident in which a Black family messed up by trying to help with sandbagging, and the Black family was viciously assaulted by a mob of the white trash.

Farmers and floodplain residents got billions of dollars in handouts even though they chose to live in floodplains (such as the St. Charles County white trash in West Alton). Meanwhile, residents of East St. Louis got NOTHING even though they didn't choose to live in the floodplain.