Mississippi River floods in Iowa probably won't cause problems here

The surging Mississippi River was cresting in Iowa on Saturday as melting snow from Minnesota and Wisconsin continues to push up river levels, the National Weather Service said.

The weather service said the river was cresting between 23 and 24.3 feet in Dubuque. The river was expected to crest at 21.9 feet in Bellevue, Iowa, on Saturday night.

The river is not expected to see many record crests in the next week, but the weather service said Saturday’s levels would come close to 1993 and 2001 records between 23.9 and 25.4 feet as the river moves down its 2,300-mile length before reaching the Gulf of Mexico.

Dubuque has closed its floodgates for only the third time ever in response to flooding. Further south in the Quad Cities — five adjoining cities along the river in Iowa and Illinois — the river is expected to crest at 21.6 feet Monday. Some roads and parks near the river are closed.

Despite some flooding in Wisconsin earlier in the week, the weather service said states farther south could be spared major flooding damage because tributaries in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri are running lower than usual, providing paths for runoff from the Mississippi.

The Mississippi is relatively narrow from Minnesota to Iowa, then from St. Louis to Cairo. After that, it opens up a great deal where it meets the Ohio River and proceeds south to the Gulf of Mexico.




Kayakers paddle along River Drive along the HESCO sand barriers protecting downtown from the rising Mississippi River, Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa. The Upper Mississippi River will rise to near record-high levels as it flows through Wisconsin and Iowa. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)