The river forecast is not looking good

Although the Mississippi River is slowly dropping right now, that trend isn't going to last. Recent heavy rains to our north are poised to push the river even higher than before.

The latest forecast now shows the river slowly rising again, cresting near 44 feet at Cape Girardeau next Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Ohio River is also creeping higher, with the river at Cairo expected to reach 47 feet -- or moderate flood stage -- by next week.

More heavy rain is in the forecast for both the Mississippi and Ohio watersheds. Today and tonight could bring heavy rain. Following a short-lived dry weekend, we have varying chances of rain Sunday night through at least Thursday of next week.

As we've seen so often lately, the 7-day rainfall projection map is very colorful:

If that wasn't enough, the first round of storms today also brings the threat of high winds and large hail. We're under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch through 8 PM.