producing a tornado. that being across portions of arkansas. the lightning threat is there. the tremendous amount of rainfall that s come down, information out of st. louis, the mississippi river that flows through st. louis, the water levels are cresting and we expect them to crest at 41 feet high. that s the fourth highest level since 1785. that s about 200-plus years they ve kept data across the region. only three other times having seen data this high for water levels. it s remarkable because a few weeks ago, few months ago, we were talking about water shortage and water levels being so low in the area. it looks like the rain could continue and taper off here by the early portion of the weekend out there. guys? what a difference a few days makes. thanks, pedram. our continuing coverage continues after this. up next, we ll hear from a local congressman. he s going to tell us his reaction to this latest storm.
vortices can be. they don t have that predictable of a path. scientifically also in terms of tornadoes, it s right near the ground. it s a big mystery as to how fast the wind speed can get in the suction vortices. some theories show that in small scales. the wind gusts could be 400 or 500 miles per hour. suction vortices are the reason you have one house, the one next door will be left untouched. if we can better understand the win speeds in those suction borders, we can better build them to withstand them. the armored vehicles with the spikes and the hydraulics and the windows. you can get up close and personal and use our instrumentation to measure some of the pressure falls and wind speed in those. that s an obsession of mine as a scientist and storm chaser is to better understand the vortices. let s go to pedram afterhja,