News

Minor to moderate flooding risk expected across the Mississippi Delta

An active weather pattern has led to some increases in water levels along the Mississippi River.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mary Lamm tells Brownfield the risk for flooding in the Mississippi Valley appears normal to below normal through the spring, but says a normal to above normal flood potential exists for the Ohio Valley.

“We do know the Ohio Valley and the Ohio River is the biggest contributor to the lower Mississippi flow,” she says.

David Welch, hydrologist with the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center says current river levels are about normal for this time of year.  

“We haven’t seen the flows yet that would get us up into where we start seeing moderate impacts or major impacts yet,” he says.

Lamm says the potential for heavy rains this spring could pose the biggest threat to farmers.

“We have near normal soil moisture, so anything that we add on top of that could make for some pretty wet or sloppy conditions for a lot of the spring,” she says.

Lamm says snow likely won’t be much of a contributing factor for spring flooding in either the Mississippi or Ohio River Valleys.

AUDIO: Mary Lamm, National Weather Service – Paducah, KY

AUDIO: David Welch, Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center