ST. LOUIS — Some rainfall is better than no rainfall, but last night's totals were not impressive. Most areas saw less than one inch of rainfall.
"It's a good amount," National Weather Service St. Louis Senior Service Hydrologist Mark Fuchs told 5 On Your Side. "If we could get rainfall like this every week, once a week, we would not have rainfall or drought issues around here to worry about. We would be fine."
If only St. Louis weather would cooperate. "It's kind of up to how much rain we get," Fuchs said. "We can't create water in the waterways. We have dams. We can release from that, but once we release it, it's gone."
Most of the 5 On Your Side Coverage area is under moderate drought. The status changes weekly and is posted on the U.S. Drought Monitor.
It's a tough time of year to be in drought, as winter is the driest season in the bi-state.
"We're not in dire straights here, but we are getting into the drier time of the year," Fuchs explained. "We don't see a lot of variation one way or the other this time of year."
River levels are low and they are forecast to stay low, which will impact barge traffic along the Missouri and Mississippi.
"If they can't use the river to transport a lot of these goods, they have to resort to much more expensive means of doing that," Fuchs explained. "They can use rail or trucks/van lines. When you look at the quantity of goods we are trying to go up the river with, that gets real expensive in a big hurry. A lot more expensive than river traffic."
Low water levels can impact wells and drinking water too. It's not something to worry about now, but something to watch for if conditions do not improve.