National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Thunderstorms and Heavy Rains Across Portions of the Central and Eastern US; Heat Expands to Portions of the East and West

Widespread showers and thunderstorms, some severe, may produce heavy downpours and flash flooding across much of the eastern and central U.S. Dangerous heat will continue in the Pacific Northwest and expand across portions of the East. Deep tropical moisture and associated thunderstorms will bring heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding across portions of Florida into the central Gulf Coast. Read More >

Overview

Driven by months of drought and periods of extreme heat during the summer and fall months in 2022, very low to record low river stages developed along the Lower Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in our area. In October 2022, river stages on the Mississippi River from the Ohio-Mississippi River confluence at Cairo, IL, to Baton Rouge, LA, were so low that commercial activities such as barge traffic and riverboats were experiencing difficulty navigating portions of the river.

Image
True color satellite imagery showing the change between July 14 and October 17, 2022, of the Lower Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from their confluence at Cairo, Ill., to the Kentucky Bend of the Mississippi River at New Madrid, Mo.
Source: Copernicus Sentinel 2. 
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