Mississippi crest forecast for Monday; weekend rain could alter river levels

This story has been edited to correct the record crest of the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau in 2016.

The National Weather Service has revised its river crest forecast for Cape Girardeau and is now calling for the Mississippi River to crest at 46 feet Monday morning. Earlier forecasts called for the river to crest Saturday morning.

A 46-foot crest will bring the water level to within 3 feet of the 48.86-foot record crest recorded Jan. 3, 2016, almost 17 feet higher than Cape Girardeau’s 32-foot flood stage.

Forecasters on Friday afternoon were calling for a possibility of rain — 50% Saturday and 40% Sunday — which could alter river levels, especially if there is substantial rainfall along the river basin north of Cape Girardeau.

As of Friday afternoon, there had been no reports of river levee breaches in the Cape Girardeau area, although there has been significant water seepage in low-lying areas of Union and Alexander counties in Southern Illinois and in parts of Southeast Missouri, including southern Cape Girardeau County and northern Scott County.

Several Cape Girardeau streets in the Red Star District in the northern part of Cape Girardeau have been closed for the past week or so and sections of Missouri highways 74 and 25 south of Cape Girardeau have been closed by the Missouri Department of Transportation because of high water. Also, a portion of Highway 177 north of Cape Girardeau also has been affected by floodwater.

As of Friday afternoon, flood stages and crest predictions for other river gages north and south of Cape Girardeau included:

• Chester, Illinois — flood stage: 27 feet; Friday afternoon reading: 45.6 feet; forecast crest: 46.1 feet Saturday morning.
• Thebes, Illinois — flood stage: 33 feet; Friday afternoon reading: 43.2 feet; predicted crest: 44 feet Monday morning.
• New Madrid, Missouri — flood stage: 34 feet; Friday afternoon reading: 35.9 feet; predicted crest: 36.3 feet Monday morning.
• Caruthersville, Missouri — flood stage: 32 feet; Friday afternoon reading: 35.2 feet; predicted crest: 36 feet Tuesday morning.