The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Lower Mississippi River ForecastCenter (LMRFC) released this update to document the low river stage conditions (today). The LMRFC provided the following text for today’s update that details low water stages from Cairo (IL) to Baton Rouge (LA).
“No significant rainfall occurred over the lower Missouri, middle Mississippi and Ohio Valleys during the past week and river levels are approaching the lowest values for 2023.
The long range models are not showing any significant rainfall over the next couple of weeks and we are going into the late summer and fall low water season for the lower Mississippi River.
The lower Ohio River at Cairo, IL was at 9.1ft this morning and it is forecast to fall over the next several weeks.
The 16 day future rainfall model is showing continued falls for the month of September and early October. The forecast is showing Cairo, IL going below 6.0ft by the end of September and reaching 5.5ft by early October. The forecast levels in late September would be similar to 2012 and 1 to 2 feet higher than 2022.
We are now in low water conditions for the lower Ohio River and stage fluctuations will be more apparent with lock/dam operations and power generation.” (Emphasis supplied)
The Carrolton Gage (New Orleans) reading at 1300 hours today was 3.01 feet with a 24-hour change of + 0.11 feet.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service Extended Streamflow Prediction (28-Day) for the Carrollton Gage issued today forecasts stages will begin a slow rise to 3.9 feet and then resume a slow fall but remain between 3.9 feet and 2.8 feet over the next 28-days with a reading of 3.0 feet expected on October 4 (2023).
However, precipitation projected over the next 72-hours could lead to another small rise in the 28-day predictionsover the next few days.
Long-range forecasts only include precipitation expected to fall in the next 48-hours. The highest crest in 2023 on the Carrollton Gage was recorded April 13 at 14.10 feet and the lowest stage of the year was recorded at 1.47 feet on July 5, 2023.
