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):

Natchez, MS and Baton Rouge, LA should fall below flood stage today.  Red River Landing, LA will fall below flood stage during the first week of May. 

The lower Ohio River will remain steady with minor fluctuations due to the operation of Olmsted Lock & Dam. 

The Mississippi River above the junction with the Ohio River will continue to have a minor rise over the next couple of days.  

Significant falls will continue on the lower Mississippi River over the next couple of weeks. 

Rainfall of 1 to 3 inches is forecast over parts of the Arkansas, Missouri, middle Mississippi, and lower Ohio Valleys.  Renewed rises may occur on the Missouri, middle Mississippi and lower Ohio Rivers.  

The 16 day future rainfall guidance is showing a minor rise on the lower Ohio River for the first week of May.   The rise is well below flood stage and the guidance continues to show no renewed flooding on the lower Mississippi River.  

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 1000 hours today was 13.40 feet with a 24-hour change of – 0.17 feet, long range forecasts indicate stages slowly falling to 10.4 feet on May 24, 2021.  

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