HIGH RIVER TO STAY INTO SEPTEMBER

Even if there is no additional and significant rain in river basins to the north, forecasters say the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau is not expected to drop below flood stage until early September.

On Wednesday, the river stage at Cape Girardeau was 46.4 feet, down more than half a foot from Tuesday's le~vel. The river is expected to fall slowly the rest of the week: to 45.8 feet today, 45.2 feet on Friday and 44.7 feet on Saturday.

At St. Louis, with a flood stage of 30 feet, the river Wednesday stood at 41.3 feet, a fall of 1.1 feet. It was predicted to drop to 40.7 feet today, 40.2 feet on Friday and 39.8 feet on Saturday.

Jack Burns, hydrologist with the National Weather Service at St. Charles, said one reason for the slow fall on the Mississippi River the rest of this month is the enormous amount of water still stored behind broken levees.

"As the river slowly recedes this month, all of the water that came through the breaks in levees above and below St. Louis earlier this month must drain back into the river. That will keep the river from falling more rapidly," he explained.

The National Weather Service's 30-day river forecast issued on Wednesday expects the river at Cape Girardeau to drop to 42.8 feet by Aug. 18, 37.9 feet on Aug. 25, 32.6 feet by Sept. 1 and 29.3 feet by Sept. 8.

At St. Louis, the river is forecast to drop to 38.5 feet on Aug. 18, 34.5 feet on Aug. 25, 30.0 feet on Sept. 1 and 27 feet by Sept. 8.

At Chester, the river was expected to drop to 42.5 feet by Aug. 18, 37.5 feet on Aug. 25, 32.0 feet on Sept. 1 and 29.0 feet on Sept. 8.

Burns noted these projections would change if there is any additional and significant rainfall north of St. Louis after today.

Flash flood watches were posted in parts of central and western Missouri on Wednesday, and spotty heavy rains occurred in those areas Tuesday night and Wednesday, in western and central Missouri.

But Burns said rainfall amounts early Wednesday were not enough to affect the fall of the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau.

Burns said weather conditions this time are somewhat different from those that generated the heavy rains and major flooding along the Mississippi River in Wisconsin, Iowa and northern Illinois during the spring and early summer months.

"What's different is that the frontal zone has developed farther south, into central Missouri, just north of the Missouri River," Burns said.

"Instead of affecting Iowa, northern Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the rainfall from the storms that move across central and northern Missouri the rest of this week will drain into the Missouri River, since most of the ground in that area is still water-logged. That water will flow into the Mississippi at St. Louis and drain downstream toward Cape. If there is substantial rainfall from these storms, it could affect the river levels from St. Louis southward. But right now, there's no indication this will happen."