River Continues To Rise: Crest Of 46 Feet Predicted For This Weekend

The Mississippi River is headed toward a crest of 46 feet this weekend, according to National Weather Service’s Advanced Hydrological Prediction for the gauge at Chester, Illinois.

The river was at a height of 43.79 feet in the early hours of Monday.

The crest is predicted for the early hours of Friday [June 7] through the early hours of Saturday [June 8].

A crest of 46 feet would surpass by a fraction the 45.99-foot crest of January 2, 2016, and would be second all-time for data on the river behind only the 49.74-foot crest on August 7, 1993.

The National Weather Service data includes records dating back to 1844.

The crest prediction moved up twice in the last seven days, from 44.5 feet to 45.3 and eventually 46, where it has been for several days.

Levee District 2 over the weekend intentionally breached the southern end of its own levee, to allow water to back into the agricultural field south of the city of Ste. Genevieve.

Also over the weekend, a portion of the levee north of the River aux Vases was breached, according to Felix Meyer, the county’s emergency management director.

See complete story in the June 5 edition of the Herald.

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