River down to 45.7 feet and droppingDip below flood stage expected next week

Published 12:00 pm Monday, June 13, 2011

Levels on the Mississippi River at Vicksburg fell another six-tenths of a foot overnight as forecasts indicated the river will drop below flood stage in the city in about two weeks.

The stage at Vicksburg was 45.7 feet this morning. Rainfall this week in the Ohio River Valley and in Vicksburg shouldn’t break the typical summertime pattern, forecasters said.

The river should go below 43 feet between June 20 and 24, said Jeff Graschel, a service hydrologist with the National Weather Service Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center in Slidell, La. Much of the extended forecast had to do with rainfall amounts on the Ohio River, he said.

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“Not much of the spotty stuff in Mississippi and Louisiana has much to do with the stage (in Vicksburg),” Graschel said.

Forecasts for Paducah, Ky., a key gauge on the Ohio River, and in Vicksburg show rain chances between 20 and 50 percent this week, mostly in the afternoon. Highs will hit 100 degrees Tuesday, then fall back to the low 90s through Friday.

The Mississippi River climbed to 57.1 feet in Vicksburg on May 19 before beginning the fall from the historic level, the highest since 1927.

In Warren County, 1,340 structures have been evacuated, 707 of them primary dwellings. More than 3,200 people have been displaced.

Individual assistance payouts total $4.2 million in 14 counties declared federal disaster areas due to flooding, with $682,141.12 in Warren County, FEMA has said.