Flooding to continue on lower Mississippi River as new flash flood threat emerges

A new round of heavy rain will target some of the same areas of the central United States that were swamped by flooding multiple times earlier in April, AccuWeather meteorologists say.

Historic rainfall occurred during the first week of April over portions of the Tennessee, Ohio and middle Mississippi valleys. Runoff from that rain is just now surging through the lowest portion of the Mississippi River and will lead to moderate to high flood levels in some areas, including Baton Rouge, La.

It may take until the middle of May for waters to dip below flood stage along the entire stretch of the Mississippi. However, rain forecast to develop over the region toward the end of the month could result in a new surge of water over some of the rivers in the basin.

At the very least, downpours that repeat from portions of northern Texas to near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers will lead to flash flooding in urban areas and along small streams next week.

The flooding can occur even though only one-third to one-half of the rain that fell in prior events is likely to fall.

In the coming week, 2-4 inches of rain are forecast over a two- to three-day period. However, some locations could receive double that amount.