ORLANDO, Fla. – Nearly 10 days after historic rainfall from Hurricane Ian, parts of the St. Johns River still haven’t crested.
Along larger bodies of water, the crest, or highest point the river rise peaks, is delayed from the heaviest rain. In the case of the St. Johns River, tidal influences also impact water levels.
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Most locations along the St. Johns have now risen to their highest point in recorded history.
St. Johns near DeLand
The St. Johns near DeLand reached a record of 6.2′ and continues to rise. The previous record was 6.1′ in 1964. The river is expected to slowly rise into next week with an expected crest of 6.5′.
Once the river reaches major flood stage of 5.3′, major flooding occurs to many structures and marinas along the river and Hontoon Island areas. The river is expected to remain in record flood stage well into next week and major flood stage for the foreseeable future.
St. Johns at Astor
The St. Johns is expected to crest at Astor tying the record crest of 4.6′′. The previous record crest was 4.62′ back in 1933. For perspective, in 2017 post Hurricane Irma, the river crested at 4.43′.
Here the river is considered to be in major flood stage at 4′. Water enters the first story of many homes and businesses along the river with some roads inaccessible.
The river is expected to remain in major flood stage for the foreseeable future
St. Johns near Sanford
The river remains in record flood stage as of Sunday morning. The river is expected to crest at 9; The previous record crest was 8.51′ in 1953. At 9′, flooding will become more significant to the Sanford waterfront area.
The river here is expected to remain in record flood stage through the middle of next week and major flood stage through at least late next week.
At the major flood stage of 8′ flooding becomes more significant to low lying structures along the river in Volusia and Seminole counties. This includes Lake Monroe. Parks and docks begin to be flooded when the river reaches 6.5′. The river is expected to remain well above this value for the foreseeable future.
St. Johns at Geneva above Lake Harney
Here the river has crested, but remains well above the record flood stage of 11.1′. As of Sunday morning the level sits at 12.2′.
The river is considered to be in major flood stage at 10′. At this point flooding becomes more significant in low-lying areas. Access to some homes also become inaccessible. At 10.8′ water covers State Road 46 and may become impassable near Jungle road and Prevatt Road. Standing water increases to more than 3 feet in some areas on secondary roads. Flooding becomes more significant to structures and marinas from above Lake Harney to the Lake Jesup area.
The water levels are expected to slowly fall, but remain well above record flood stage through next week.
St. Johns Near Cocoa
The river here has jumped back into Moderate Flood stage with a current level of 16.5′ The river will remain around this level through early Tuesday morning before slowly falling.
Click here for the latest real-time river levels.
Haw Creek Above Russell Landing
The creek level continues to fall below its record crest of 8.67′, but remains in major flood stage. The previous record crest was 8′ during Hurricane Irma in 2017.
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