Mississippi River Will Break 1927 Record For Continuous Flood Stage At Baton Rouge On Tuesday

[hatrack]

The last time the Mississippi River was this high for this long, it prompted the federal government to build the modern levee system. The river has been in flood stage for months, and on Tuesday, will hit 136 days in flood stage at Baton Rouge, breaking the record set in 1927. What's more, the river is still in major flood stage and rising, though held in place by the levees. Meteorologists say they expect it will stay in flood stage "well into summer."

The persistent high water has had economic and ecological ramifications. Construction work near levees has ceased, and excess river water passing through the Bonnet Carré Spillway, some experts say, has posed a threat to marine life and to Louisiana's seafood industry.

Officials say the levees are holding after being shored up since the 2011 floods, though some are waiting to see whether sink holes form when the water recedes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers doesn't expect to open the Morganza Spillway, but it says it has been close and it's keeping an eye on forecasts.

EDIT

National Weather Service hydrologist Jeff Graschel said the closest the river has gotten to this level of flood in the modern era was in 1983, when the Mississippi was in flood stage for 115 days. Areas such as the Tennessee River Valley saw record rainfall in the past year, and the Midwest also had a wet fall, so the river never really got low around November, as is typical, he continued. The typical formula the Corps uses to predict flood stage doesn't even apply because the water has been so high for so long, Mississippi Valley Watershed Chief Joey Windham said.

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https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/article_a73b3f5c-7666-11e9-bf63-b3d5aab37a65.html

[abqtommy]

1. The lies told by tRump and rePUKES:

No collusion, no climate change!

[2naSalit]

2. And it will keep on being flooded for a while...

Up here, in the headwaters region, we still have our snowpack... runoff has only just begun and it's been raining for days. The rivers are super high already which means that as soon as it warms up, we'll be flooding. Seriously, I was wading ankle-deep in a river channel at my friend's place five days ago, yesterday it was neck deep with a current so swift that we ddin't want to take the johnboat across to go pick mushrooms on the island... it's only 40 feet across at this point.

[rampartc]

3. the bonnet carre spillway is open

this is not good for the ecosystem of lake pontchartrain, but for we who are looking upwards to watch the shipping on the river .....

https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_59a988de-7279-11e9-9497-8b44741b6811.html

here is the carrolton gauge, at new orleans. flood stage was last sunday, but the spillway (opened last saturday may 11) makes a big difference.