The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center (LMRFC) released the update below on river stage conditions (today). The LMRFC provided the attachment for historical stage data for Cairo, IL provided to reference previous low water events including 2022.

“Over the past two weeks, little rainfall has fallen over the upper Mississippi and upper Ohio Valleys.  Snowmelt crests have moved out of the lower Mississippi River.

Cairo, IL on the lower Ohio River is near 15.0ft today and well below the average stage of 28-29ft for this time of year.  For reference, last year’s river level at Cairo, IL was 30.7ft and it didn’t reach 15.0 ft until early July.  

Some rainfall is occurring over the middle Mississippi and Ohio Valleys today but it doesn’t appear to be enough to increase flows on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. 

A better chance of rain is expected late this weekend and early next week.  Rainfall amounts of 1/2 to 1 inch are expected over the middle Mississippi and Ohio Valleys.

Right now, the 16 day future rainfall model is not showing much runoff from this weekend’s rain event.  The model is showing continued falls for the month of June and Cairo, IL is projected to reach 10ft by early July. 

We continue to watch river levels closely and we’ll provide another update next Wednesday.”(Emphasis supplied)

The Carrolton Gage (New Orleans) reading at 1500 hours today was 5.27 feet with a 24-hour change of – 0.14 feet. The stages on the Carrollton Gage are predicted to continue a steady fall to 2.7 feet on
July 5, 2023.