Rain in weekend forecast; releases from Kentucky, Barkley lakes cut

Showers and storms forecast Sunday and Monday are likely to bring an additional 1 to 3 inches of rainfall to Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, said David Humphries, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Paducah.

The area could see a total of 2 to 4 inches of rain through Tuesday, he said, but this rainfall isn't likely to bring higher crests along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

"The overall impact on the larger rivers is that it will slow the recession after the crest," Humphries said.

Dams at Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers will continue to cut water releases over the next 24 hours in an effort to mitigate flooding on the Ohio River.

These rivers empty into the Ohio River, just above where the major flooding begins, upstream from Cairo, said Rachel Trevino, National Weather Service forecaster.

Holding the water in these lakes keeps the water normally released from them from contributing to water levels downstream in the Ohio and the Mississippi, Trevino said.

The water levels at Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake are rising rapidly due to the reduction in water releases. The pool at Kentucky Lake yesterday was 364.9 feet, while Lake Barkley was at 364.8 feet. This is about 7 feet above the typical summer pool.