The wet weather in St. Louis will continue even after polls open

About 3 to 5 inches of precipitation total is expected in St. Louis and its suburbs, with larger amounts falling in the south, where a flash flood warning is in effect in or near a portion of the Ozarks. Places like Reynolds County and Iron County, for example, had already received 4 inches or more of rain as of Monday morning, with more to come.

Much of the rain is expected to be relatively light and steady, but a few thunderstorms could sweep across the region overnight – ones that could bring tornadoes to parts of central Missouri, the National Weather Service warned.

However, in a midday update Monday, the agency said that “it is unclear how quickly these storms will weaken as they move eastward overnight.”

Rainfall is expected to be light to moderate around St. Louis, partially overlapping with Election Day voting.

While the NWS said the rain could cause localized “nuisance” flooding, forecasters also noted that it would significantly help alleviate drought conditions that have spread across much of the region and Missouri – recently leading to the declaration Drought emergency has resulted in most of the state.

“Our soils were very dry when we arrived,” said Jayson Gosselin, a meteorologist with the NWS St. Louis region forecast office. “There should be a significant improvement.”

After the series of rains that began late Sunday ends, the St. Louis region can expect dry conditions through the middle of the week. The next chance of rain in the region will come this weekend, the NWS said.