Jefferson County first responders, farmers and climate experts are rejoicing after recent heavy rains ended the drought here.
Missouri has been in a drought for the past two years, affecting the state’s crops, barge operations and tourist destinations, among other industries. According to the United States Drought Monitor, 17.98 percent of Missouri remains classified as either abnormally dry or in moderate drought, mainly concentrated in southern and southeastern Missouri.
Southern and southeastern Missouri are still experiencing drought-like conditions.
In a written statement from the University of Missouri Extension, state climatologist Zack Leasor said that is a big improvement from earlier in the year when 66.55 percent of the state was classified as abnormally dry or in a drought.
Statewide precipitation was 2 inches above the monthly average in April, at 6.01 inches, according to the most recent data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The past two months have brought abundant rainfalls to most of Missouri,” Leasor said. “After back-to-back drought years in 2022 and 2023, drought concerns were high in early 2024 following warm and dry conditions in February and March.”
Leasor said while Missouri has experienced a wetter spring than usual, the state isn’t completely out of drought-like conditions yet.
Gov. Mike Parson recently continued the state’s drought alert through Sept. 1, according to the Missouri Extension release.
“Even with widespread improvements in the short-term, Missouri’s vulnerability to drought is still higher than usual this year based on some of the long-term dryness and above-average temperatures through the beginning of 2024,” Leasor said.
Brush fires down
High Ridge Fire Chief John Barton said his crews were working overtime earlier in the year to put out brush fires in his district and helping other fire districts, but recently the number of brush fires has dropped significantly, he said.
Brush fires occur when stray embers from a campfire, cigarette or other fire or flame, catch extremely dry vegetation on fire. Low moisture in the atmosphere and on the ground can exacerbate conditions, leading to a likelihood of brush fires.
“We still encourage people to be responsible when doing outdoor burning, but we’re definitely not in the scenario that we had been in not that long ago, where a couple of stray embers were lighting off brush fires that were spreading pretty rapidly through dry vegetation,” Barton said.
Although the threat of brush fires has decreased, Barton said High Ridge Fire isn’t totally out of the clear; with the increased amount of rainfall comes the concern of flash flooding from the Big River, which flows through the district.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate that river levels have been manageable most of the time,” Barton said. “Rockwood Park was closed briefly, for a weekend, a couple of weeks ago because the river level was high.”
Rain’s a blessing and curse
The recent heavy rains have mostly been beneficial for Jefferson County’s farmers, said Paul Lee, a Field Office Service Area technician with the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District in Hillsboro who travels throughout Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. Louis and Washington counties to aid farmers with conservation efforts, including soil erosion.
“I know we’ve had a good, wet spring, and it’s showing,” Lee said. “Having more rain in the spring helps farmers with more moisture so plants can have that resource later on, but (after long periods of drought), it takes a while to recharge the groundwater.”
Lee said the heavy rains forced some farmers to plant later in the season than they wanted to.
“It’s a little more rain than (the farmers) wanted, but they enjoy the extra moisture when they can get it,” he said.
Longtime farmer and state Rep. Gary Bonacker (R-House Springs) said the type of heavy rains the state has recently seen are not always the good, extended rains that promote crop growth, adding that it’s the timely rains that help farmers the most.
Bonacker has farmed for more than 50 years, previously running a cattle operation in addition to dairy farming and growing soybeans and corn, according to his profile on the Missouri House of Representatives website.
He said he currently is growing hay and usually gets two cuttings of hay a year, one in May and the other in July. If there’s enough rain at the end of August, Bonacker said he may get a third cutting in September.
“I’m short on hay this spring already on the first cutting by quite a bit just because it may rain an inch in Festus or an inch in Eureka, but I’m only getting a couple of tenths of an inch at a time when we’ve had rain, so it’s not enough to increase the growth of the grass right now,” Bonacker said.
While rain is important for his hay, he said it’s also important to have a long dry period with no rain because cutting, baling, and storing wet grass spells trouble – rotting hay.
“You can have a 6-inch rain just before you cut a crop, and it doesn’t do that crop any good,” he said. “In my hay business, I’m looking for four days of no rain -- the first day I cut it, the second day it dries, the third day is for baling, and a lot of time I need a fourth day to get it out of the field because I’m working by myself.”
River’s low in Kimmswick
Jim McNichols, executive director of the Jefferson County Port Authority, said heavy rains have limited effects on the mighty Mississippi River
For example, Kimmswick has had a “persistent problem” with shallow water at the riverboat dock, regardless of the recent heavy rains, which means no riverboats have docked there since 2022. In addition, American Queen Voyages, a riverboat cruise company whose American Duchess boat stopped at the Kimmswick port in July 2021, has canceled all of its future cruises, saying it never recovered from loss of business related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
McNichols said the river is much shallower on the Missouri side near the Kimmswick dock than it is on the Illinois side.
“It’s going to be a legacy issue because the river will go up and will go down, and it’s not going to change the composition of the riverbank there,” McNichols said. “It’s a situation where they built the dock, and designed it in a certain way that is not conducive to the idea that conditions in the river could change dramatically at that spot, dramatically changing the access to it.”
McNichols said initial designs for a low-water access point are in the works, which would allow riverboats to dock during periods of high or low water. He said the Port Authority is awaiting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before construction can begin.
“(The river) is a fickle beast. She giveth and she taketh away really quick,” McNichols said.
Soggy ballfields
Tim Pigg, Jefferson County Parks and Recreation director, said the heavy rains have delayed some spring programs by a few weeks.
The ball fields at the Northwest Sports Complex in House Springs were muddy for a while, delaying the youth T-ball and American Legion leagues that practice and play games there.
Pigg said the ball fields dry “pretty quick” due to a field conditioner made up of vitrified clay and crushed volcanic rock.
Though the county’s parks have been soggier than usual lately, Pigg said he’s grateful for the rain.
“Without water, it’s game over,” he said. “At some point in time, you start crying uncle because there’s so much rain, but when we get into August, you’ll turn around and say, ‘Where’s the rain?’ You count your blessings even though you don’t think it’s a blessing when it happens.”