As of Saturday, the river at the Cape floodwall was at 41.6 feet, on its way to 44 feet by Tuesday. Major flooding at Cape is at 42 feet.
Upstream at Chester, Illinois, the Mississippi returned to major flood level on Friday afternoon, and is forecast to crest at 16 feet above flood stage by next weekend. This will exceed the earlier high water mark for the year of 42 feet on May 7.
Along with the Mississippi, three other Midwest rivers have surged this spring, with consistent major rains each week somewhere in the Mississippi River basin. Parts of the river have been high or flooding since last October.
The Missouri and Illinois rivers empty into the Mississippi north of Cape Girardeau, and both are themselves swollen with rising waters.
Further north, the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois continue to set records for the number of consecutive days in flood. On the northern half of the river, most gauges are still 7 to 13 feet above flood stage.
Downstream from Cape, the Arkansas River is now delivering the result of massive rains this week in Oklahoma and Kansas.
Even at its widest point near New Orleans, the Mississippi is in danger of overwhelming its banks. A historic floodway may have to be opened for only the third time in its history, and inundate a large portion of rural Louisiana with the water from two dozen upriver states.
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NWS river gauges
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