Flooding risk closes Leavenworth campground (2024)

Published: Jun. 28, 2024 at 10:36 PM CDT

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (KCTV) — Cars, trucks and motorcycles streamed into the parking lot of Leavenworth’s Riverfront Park on Friday evening. The campgrounds had closed because of the flooding risk, but the big attraction was right in front of them, below the bridge.

They came to see the Missouri River higher than it’s been in a long time.

“It looks so much different than it did just a couple of months ago when I was here because the water has been so low for so long,” said Julie Calabro.

Calabro grew up in Leavenworth. She now lives in Wichita and was in town for her mom’s 91st birthday on Tuesday.

“It’s just something that’s always here, and when it changes, we want to go check it out,” Calabro explained.

She’s one of several people who stopped off to get a look. Some were concerned. Others were simply awed by the giant, powerful feat of nature that seems to have a life of its own.

“The brush is out in the middle, so you know it’s raising,” said Jason Timon.

He lives in Texas now and was in town to visit his daughter. He took her out to the river and the memories came flooding back.

“I grew up on this river,” Timon said. “I literally lived right on the river almost my whole childhood. This is the place where you come when you want some peace and solitude.”

“Growing up he would take me here and we’d walk on the railroads a lot,” his daughter reminisced.

It’s been happening for generations. Calabro recalled a time when she was in junior high school, back when she felt invincible, and the river was rising.

“A friend of mine skipped school one day and we walked over that railroad bridge over to Missouri,” Calabro said. “There was nothing there but railroad ties and railroad tracks. You could see straight down to the river.”

Jacque McCarter sat in her air-conditioned car to watch as the air grew muggy. Her memory was less fond.

“The last time I saw this was in ‘93 when it was flowing down Cherokee Street, washing my car away. It was a nightmare,” McCarter said. “I hope we don’t have that again.”

Forecasts this time are for just minor flooding, but Leavenworth knows a lot about what a tranquil river can turn into. Interim city administrator Patrick Kitchens said it floods about once every three years.

The official flood stage according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) is 20 feet. Kitchens said it almost always happens when they reach 22.3 feet. If that’s forecast, which it is, the gates go up to close the campground. It sits lower than the lot that drew gawkers.

“Anytime the water rises above that ladder, we’ve seen water get into the camp and put the campers at risk,” Kitchens explained. “Our primary concern is safety for everybody, so we’ll just stay ahead of it and remain closed until we’re sure.”

NOAA forecasts the river will crest in Leavenworth at 23 feet at 1 p.m. on Wednesday. They forecast it will reach its flood stage of 20 feet at 7 a.m. on Sunday. It was nearing 19 feet Friday night. It’s not due to rain locally but the torrent that’s hit states along the Missouri River to the North.

“With all the rain that we’re getting up north you’d think it would be rising a little faster,” said Timon. “We’ll see if it keeps raining up there. Might get higher than what they expect.”

That’s why the city closed the campground days in advance. When it comes to Mother Nature, forecasts are just that. They are not certainties.

Timon is confident it won’t be a doozie, so he’s just glad to be back where he feels like he belongs, even if just briefly.

“I’ve lived a lot of places but I always come back to here,” he said wistfully. “Something about the river just always draws me back.”

NOAA’s forecasts call for minor flooding in Parkville as well, but not in Kansas City, where the levees are higher. The Missouri River at Kansas City is expected to crest 27.7 feet on Wednesday. That is well below the Flood Stage of 32.0 feet.

Flooding is then predicted to occur in points south with lower flood stages.

Here are the forecasts from NOAA as of Friday afternoon for all of the cities in the region where river levels are measured:

• Omaha: cresting Saturday morning at a stage of 33.1 feet. This is 6.1 feet over Flood Stage.
• Nebraska City: cresting at 24.3 feet Sunday. This is 6.3 feet over Flood Stage.
• Brownville: cresting at 41.4 feet Monday. This is 7.4 feet over Flood Stage.
• Rulo: cresting at 23.8 feet Tuesday. This is 6.8 feet over Flood Stage.
• St. Joseph: cresting at 24.6 feet Wednesday. This is 7.6 feet over Flood Stage.
• Atchison cresting at 26.5 feet Wednesday. This is 4.5 feet over Flood Stage.
• Leavenworth cresting at 23.0 feet Wednesday. This is 3.0 feet over Flood Stage.
• Parkville cresting at 27.6 feet Wednesday. This is 2.6 feet over Flood Stage.
• Kansas City cresting at 27.7 feet Wednesday. This is well below the Flood Stage of 32.0 feet.
• Napoleon cresting at 22.6 feet Thursday. This is 5.6 feet over Flood Stage.

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