We want to begin with what’s being described as a catastrophic extreme weather on the Midwest. The record rainfall caused deadly flash flooding in the St. Louis area. At least one person was killed. Fire and emergency crews rescued more than one hundred people from homes and vehicles. More than a foot of rain in some areas have surpassed multiple one hundred-year-old records. All four major interstates leaving the downtown area were closed as water swamped the roadways. And there is more rain ahead and forecasters are concerned that parts of the Ohio river valley could see more than half of foot rain at the end of the week.

Here in St. Peters just northwest of St. Louis it’s been so soaked with more than a foot of rainfall. A lot of which fell before sunrise, leaving many residents here forced to flee these flooding waters in darkness risks of getting trapped. St. Louis wake up under water. By 7A.M, eight inches of rain had fallen, shutting down four major highways near the city. Roads were overwhelmed. Cars drowned in the water were left abandoned, with homes and businesses not spared from the historic flash flooding. First responders across the area ferried more than a hundred residents from their drenched homes and trapped vehicles. While others waded through waist-deep waters. At least one person was found dead in a submerged vehicle. The flooding prompted rescues in multiple animal shelters. But it was too late for ten poppies that drowned. As the rain moved on, many took refuge in shelters while they figure out their next steps. Officials said late this afternoon, the threat is not over, four more inches of rain could fall which could lead to more flooding and damage the homes.