Flooding Along the Mississippi

Rain, snowmelt, and soil

moisture—those three factors might push portions of the Upper Mississippi River

into major flooding this spring. Meanwhile, the middle and lower reaches of the

river are already well out of their banks.

Intense storms over February

22-24, 2019, caused major flooding along the Middle Mississippi

River. On February 25, 2019, the Landsat 8 satellite acquired images of swollen

portions of the Mississippi River. The video above shows a false-color

view of flooding

near Memphis, Tennessee comparing February 2019 to February 2014. Flood

waters appear blue; vegetation is green; and bare ground is brown. Notice how

the Ohio River and Mississippi River have swelled near Cairo, the southernmost

city in Illinois.

National Weather Service forecasters noted that

higher-than-average precipitation in autumn 2018 saturated soils in the region,

so additional rain or snowmelt from this winter will likely result in excessive

runoff and increased flooding threats.

Rapid snowmelt will also play

a role in flooding this spring in the Midwest. Parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin

have built up snowpack of nearly

25 inches, so melting snow alone could propel many areas into major

flooding.

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