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 on the lower Mississippi River have temporarily fallen below flood stage.

Rises on the lower Ohio River combined with high flows on the Arkansas River will cause renewed minor flooding at Red River Landing, LA by this weekend. 

Significant rises are occurring on the lower Mississippi River from New Madrid, MO to Vicksburg, MS.  Other than Red River Landing, LA; no other location is forecast to crest above flood stage.

Over the next 7 days, one to four inches of rainfall is forecast over the Arkansas, Missouri, middle Mississippi, and Ohio Valleys.  Additional rises can be expected on the lower Ohio and lower Mississippi Rivers.  

The 16 day future rainfall guidance is starting to show minor flooding on the lower Ohio River for the third week of May.  This rise may cause additional minor flooding on the lower Mississippi River in the coming weeks. 

The latest crest on the Carrollton Gauge at New Orleans was recorded at 15.44 feet at 1700 hours on April 16, 2021.

The Carrollton Gauge stage at 1200 hours today was 10.76 feet with a 24-hour change of – 0.31 feet, long range forecasts indicate stages slowly rising to 12.0 feet before beginning a slow fall to 9.6 feet on May 31, 2021.

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