NEW ORLEANS — The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Mississippi River at New Orleans until Friday, March 13. If you live in the metro area and received a weather alert on your phone, it may have caused some concern.
Here's what that flood warning means to you:
As of Thursday morning, the river reached minor flood stage (17 feet) at the New Orleans Carrollton gauge and is expected to remain at that level until Thursday, March 12.
Fortunately, the City of New Orleans is protected by levees up to 20.0 feet, so no flooding issues are expected inside the levee protection area.
The trigger to open to the Bonnet Carre Spillway happens when the Mississippi River reaches both a flow rate of 1.25 million cubic feet per second and expected to rise further. Currently, the river flowing at 1.25 million cubic feet per second, but is not rising. Therefore, the Bonnet Carre Spillway is not expected to be opened at this time.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said residents should use extreme caution when on or near the levees because they are under "a significant amount of pressure."
The river is expected to crest at 17.1 feet Saturday morning and then slowly fall below flood stage by the end of next week. This could cause problems for navigation and docking ships on the river.
The Mississippi River has been rising since the beginning of the year due to heavy rainfall to the north. Some areas in northern Mississippi have received more than 15 inches of rainfall in the last 30 days, which is above average for the region.
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