A forecast update provided by our colleagues from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center (LMRFC) is here. Highlights from today’s update specific to the areas along the Mississippi River Ship Channel are reproduced below (listed in bold):

All locations have crested on the lower Mississippi River.  Tonight through Saturday morning, heavy rain will occur over parts of Louisiana and Mississippi with forecast amounts of 1 to 3 inches.  Where the heavier rain bands setup, some locations from Helena, AR downstream to New Orleans, LA could have some temporary rises of a few tenths.   

Falls of ½ to 1 foot are occurring on the lower Mississippi River from New Madrid, MO to Osceola, AR.  The falls should continue downstream and approach Arkansas City, AR by early next week.  Minor flooding will end at Caruthersville, MO downstream to Greenville, MS by the middle of next week. 

Minor to isolated moderate flooding will continue on the lower Mississippi River from Vicksburg, MS downstream to Baton Rouge, LA over the next 1 to 3 weeks. 

The 16 day future rainfall guidance is not showing any additional rises over the next month but it is showing reductions on the falls starting after a week through the first week of May. 

The Carrollton Gauge at New Orleans crested at 14.66 feet at 0400 hours on Thursday, April 8 and is expected to begin a slow fall but remain over 14.0 feet until April 21, 2021 and fall to 10.6 feet on May 7, 2021.

Please review the attachment for complete details as distributed by NOAA’s Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center.