Mississippi River expected to drop below flood stage by Thursday

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com A large piece of driftwood rests near a stop sign at the intersection of Washington Street and Route E in Commerce on Monday, July 14, 2008 after floodwaters receded from the town. [Click to enlarge]

The Mississippi River should drop below its 32 foot flood stage at Cape Girardeau by Thursday morning, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service.

By Thursday morning the river at Cape Girardeau should reach 31.2 feet and continue to drop to 28.4 feet by Sunday, according to the forecast issued at 9:10 a.m. today.

The drop marks a return to below flood stage following several weeks of intense flooding north of Southeast Missouri which pushed the river up over 42 feet, nearly to levels not seen since the 1993 flood. The river's rise closed roads and had people in Dutchtown scrambling to build a makeshift levee for protection.

As the river drops driftwood, mud and dead vegetation are left behind in places like the fields next to the diversion channel and the riverfront at Commerce, Mo.

Roads around the area that were closed due to flooding have now been opened, and the floodgates protecting downtown Cape Girardeau from high waters have also opened.

Since the river's crest in late June, forecasts have been revised frequently, with subsequent predictions indicate more dramatic drops in river levels. Forecasts could still be revised to indicate either faster or slower drops in river levels.