The Farmer's Forecast: Flooding Risk This Week
By Nick Mikulas
While it’s impossible to tell you individual impacts at each location, I did want to share this resource with you all regarding river and lake forecasts over the next few weeks. www.water.noaa.gov will be an excellent resource to track current levels, and forecast crests. Louisiana is covered in lots of water, and there will be significant flooding possible in areas like Spring Bayou in Avoyelles Parish, and on Saline and Larto. I don’t have exact forecasts on how high the water will get at those spots, but there will likely be flooding in any areas that typically experience flooding when the Mississippi River is in moderate to major flood stage. The Mississippi River is forecast to rise 15-20 feet in the next week, and that will create significant backwater flooding. Use that website, and stay tuned into local sources that are more familiar with your particular area. I just wanted to share this as soon as possible so you have as much time as possible to prepare. This is all due to widespread 5-15 inch rains to our north over the last few days. The Mississippi, and the bodies of water it feeds aren’t the only ones that will see problems. The Red River is also forecast to hit moderate flood stage, and the Atchafalaya will be on the rise as well. I’ll update things later in the week.