Rising Mississippi River Prompts Historic Opening of Bonnet Carré Spillway Near New Orleans
By Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather Staff Writer
As the Mississippi River continues to rise, officials opened the Bonnet Carré Spillway on Friday. Never before has the spillway been opened twice in the same year. The Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carré Spillway Friday afternoon, May 10. This is the fourteenth operation of the structure since 1937, and the first time it has been opened twice during the same high-water event. The spillway was first opened this year on Feb. 27.