Mississippi River forecasts on rise, expected to crest in approximately one week
Published 4:30 pm Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Residents along the lower Mississippi River need to keep a watchful eye on the river levels as they’re forecast to go up higher than previously predicted.
On Tuesday, the Mississippi River was at 54.16 feet on the Natchez gauge. It’s now forecast to reach 57.0 on April 8 and will stay at that level for a few days before slowly falling, the National Weather Service’s Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center is predicting. Flood stage is 48 feet.
The forecasted level is 2 feet higher than the forecast from one week ago.
Up the river in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the river was at 47.12 feet. Flood stage in Vicksburg is at 43 feet.
The river in Vicksburg is expected to a height of 50 feet on April 7, where it is expected to stay for a few days before beginning to fall.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg closed the Steele Bayou Control Structure north of Vicksburg on Monday to help prevent backwater flooding.
The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi reported the corps plans to begin opening up the Bonnet Carre Spillway upriver from New Orleans to relieve pressure on the levees there.
River forecasts can change in the coming days if expected rainfall deviates from what forecasters are expecting.