Major flooding continues along area rivers

Even as the Mississippi River is expected to crest on Friday, June 7, more rain is in the forecast for the region.

The National Weather Service office in Paducah reported early this week that the Mississippi River is forecast to crest on Friday at both Cape Girardeau and Thebes. Major flooding is occurring at both locations.

Flooding also continues along the Big Muddy River. As of early this week, flood warnings remained in effect for both rivers until further notice. Both the Big Muddy and Mississippi rivers border Union County.

The weather service also was calling for the possibility of 2 to 4 inches of rain this week in Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky.

Showers and thunderstorms were in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, June 4-5.

The forecast was calling for a chance of showers and thunders on Thursday, today, and again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 7-9.

The weather service office in Paducah noted on its website that fluctuations in the river stage levels were possible due to the additional heavy rain which was in the forecast for this week.

The weather service posted the following flood updates on its website early this week:

Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau: At 9 p.m. Monday, June 3, the river’s stage was 44.4 feet. Flood stage is 32.0 feet. The river is forecast to continue rising to near 46.0 feet Friday morning and then begin a slow fall over the weekend.

Mississippi River at Thebes: At 9 p.m. Monday, the river’s stage was 42.1 feet. Flood stage is 33.0 feet. The river is forecast to continue rising to near 44.0 feet by Friday evening and then begin a slow fall over the weekend.

Big Muddy River near Murphysboro: At 9 p.m. Monday, the river’s stage was 29.5 feet. Flood stage is 22.0 feet. Moderate flooding is occurring. The river is forecast to continue rising to near 30.0 feet by Thursday, today, and then begin to fall slowly.