The Associated Press

DUTCHTOWN, Mo.—Flood-weary residents in Missouri, Arkansas and Ohio fought Friday to save their homes after heavy rainstorms pushed swollen rivers out of their banks, and a fresh snowstorm blew through parts of the Upper Midwest, canceling flights in the Chicago area.

Along the Meramec River in eastern Missouri, residents of Valley Park could only cross their fingers that the town’s $49 million earthen levee, built in 2005 to withstand a 100-year flood, would pass its first big test. The surging Meramec was expected to crest at a record 40 feet on Saturday—24 feet above flood stage.

Missouri Public Safety said the levee was in good shape, but some residents decided to leave for higher ground just in case.

Forecasters said the snowstorm could leave as much as 11 inches of heavy snow in the region. Ten inches had fallen Friday in Red Wing, Minn. In northern Illinois, snow canceled about 400 flights and delayed numerous others at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Across town, at Midway Airport, about 15 flights have been canceled. Delays for some flights range from 15 to 90 minutes.

Northern Ohio residents prepared for an expected 3 to 6 inches of snow, while flood victims in the southern parts of the state began the arduous task of cleaning up after some of the heaviest rain in years.

A blizzard warning remained in effect in northern Maine, where fierce winds scattered snow, uprooted trees and brought down power lines.

“Even though it was spring yesterday, we still have winter on our doorstep,” spokeswoman Ginny Joles of Maine Public Service Co., northern Maine’s major electric company, said Friday. Parts of the Midwest got a foot of rain over a 36-hour period this week, causing widespread flash flooding. The worst flooding happened in smaller rivers across the nation’s midsection. Major channels such as the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers saw only minor flooding.

Rivers receded Friday in Ohio, however, but several areas were still under flood warnings. About 70 state roads were closed or partly blocked by flooding; crews were trying to pump water off a major route into Columbus, according to the State Highway Patrol.

In Missouri, eyes were on the levee in Park Valley. With nearly one-third of the town’s 6,500 residents at risk if the levee breaks or is overtopped, authorities were taking no chances. They set up a staging area full of rescue trucks and a boat in a school parking lot near the town, said Chesterfield Fire Department Capt. Steve Smith.

At least 16 deaths have been linked to the weather over the past few days, and at least two people whose vehicles were swept away by rushing water Tuesday were still missing in Arkansas.