RIVER FLOOD CREST REVISED UPWARD

The National Weather Service has revised the predicted flood crest on the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau.

Forecasters expect the river here to crest at 36.2 feet on Monday, 4.2 feet above flood stage.

The revision is due to heavy rains this week along the upper Mississippi River watershed north of St. Louis. Major flooding on the upper river, said to be the worst in three decades, has forced the Corps of Engineers to close a 500-mile stretch of the river from St. Louis to St. Paul, Minn.

The river here was at 34.8 feet on Tuesday. It was forecast to reach 35.2 feet today, 35.4 feet on Thursday, and 35.5 feet on Friday. Forecasters said the figures are based on no additional significant rain north of St. Louis after Tuesday.

In anticipation of the latest flood crest, the fifth since March of this year, the Main Street Levee District closed the Themis Street floodgate at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The Broadway floodgate remains open until the river reaches 37.8 feet.