The warm period also pushed May's average maximum temperature close to a record level and the average minimum and mean temperatures to new record levels. All temperatures are given in degrees Fahrenheit. Many places along the Upper Mississippi, Missouri and other Midwest rivers that flooded in 1993 flooded again on May 17 and 18. But the water wasn't nearly as deep as durng summer of 1993. Figures here are a sample of water levels on May Wednesday, May 17, compared with the flood stage and with records set during 1993.
Flood stage is the river level at which flooding begins.
The river heights are relative to each particular location. The crop moisture map represents relatively short-range moisture supply in the soil that will affect crops in the following three or four weeks. The rankings are in terms of what is normal for each area. The flooding in the Midwest in mid May was significant but below the record levels measured in 1993. Also, the mid May 1995 flooding was further to the east affecting the Ohio River.