Intense floods in the upper Mississippi River basin may hold a silver lining for communities in the Arkansas Delta and Louisiana hit by drought, according to an association of local governments from up and down the Mississippi River Valley.
Representatives of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative gave an update Thursday morning on how flooding in states like Iowa, Illinois and Missouri will affect downstream communities. Anna Wolverton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the flooding was “actually a saving grace” for communities on the middle to lower portions of the river.
“At the beginning of June, we were beginning to see in the long range forecast the possibility for some low water levels, beginning as early as the start of June,” Wolverton said. “But here we are, this rainfall is keeping the water levels up. Really, this is a good thing for the lower Miss.”
The flooding is expected to provide relief to the lower Mississippi River states after the river experienced the lowest water levels for the second year in the row, according to a January 2024 report from the National Centers for Environmental Information. The floods will mean that communities along the lower Mississippi River likely will not worry about low water until its usual dry season this fall.
According to the National Weather Service, the flood wave emerged this spring from an unexpected wet pattern in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota as thunderstorms pummeled the area.
But while the flooding will offer relief to lower Mississippi states after a year of drought, some Arkansas communities in the flood zone, such as Blytheville, were still making preparations.
“As we know, Blytheville is relatively flat land, and whenever the forecast is flash flooding, we prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Mayor Melisa Logan of Blytheville told the Arkansas Times at the teleconference.
Logan serves as the current secretary of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative. Arkansas Delta communities are resilient and familiar with the challenges posed by high waters, she said, but Blytheville has struggled to control flooding in recent years. “Our local infrastructure is not equipped to handle the effects of continuous rain,” she said.
With the flood crest from upstream moving closer to Arkansas, compounded by recent rains from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, Logan nevertheless said Blytheville is prepared for the potential flooding.
“We are affected heavily because we are flat land, there is nowhere for my water to go outside of a healthy drainage system — ditches, other tributaries — and then into the river,” Logan said. “Here in the delta, we are working hard in partnership with Mississippi River Cities and Towns to stay ahead of the flood waters by identifying high impact areas and finding ways to add capacity and relieve stress from our storm wall systems.” She spoke about the town’s efforts to clear storm drains 24 to 48 hours before expected flooding and her team’s efforts to work through rains to address flooding.
With preparations in place, Logan said she was confident Blytheville would handle any additional flooding from the north. As of Thursday, the National Water Prediction Service was not forecasting any flooding in communities down the Mississippi River south of Hickman, Kentucky.