Leftover Gustav rains prompt minor Missouri floods

ST. LOUIS — Rains left over from Hurricane Gustav drenched Missouri on Thursday, resulting in scattered road closures and reports of minor flooding in low-lying areas.

The National Weather Service said wet weather left over from the hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast on Monday hovered over Arkansas for a few days before dropping as much as 6 inches of rain in Missouri on Wednesday and Thursday.

"This is not going to be a long-lived event," said meteorologist Benjamin Sipprell with the National Weather Service in eastern Missouri. He said the storms should be gone by Thursday evening, though some communities could get an additional inch or two of rain before the stormy weather subsided.

The Missouri Department of Transportation reported 18 road closures, primarily in central, southern and eastern Missouri, at midday. The closed roads were primarily in low-lying areas prone to flooding in wet weather.

While authorities encouraged the public to be vigilant in case of flooding, Transportation Department spokeswoman Sally Oxenhandler said Thursday's storms had nowhere near the impact of flooding earlier this year. At points, hundreds of roads in the state had to be shut down then, she noted.

At the Flat Creek Resort in Cape Fair outside of Branson, Nikki Kintz, 25, said the business had temporarily pulled its kayak and canoe dock out of Table Rock Lake because of high water.

So far, the season has been a mixed one at the resort, with high gas prices, earlier instances of flooding and also stretches of beautiful weather. She says she has high hopes for the fall to draw boaters to the river.

"September is really good fishing season, and as long as the weather's OK, they like to float," she said.