Hydrologist Matt Wilson says for example, the river at Dubuque will crest on Saturday, nearly one foot higher than it did in 1993 - the 3rd highest ever.
"We are fairly sure at this point that from Camanche to Dubuque in our area the crests that we're expecting are going to be the third highest crests on record, surpassing the flood of '93. Only the floods of 1965 and 2001 will be higher than the floods that we're going to see this year from Camanche north to Dubuque."
Wilson also expects the Mississippi at Bellevue to crest on Saturday, followed by crests at Camanche on Sunday, Fulton and LeClaire overnight Sunday into Monday, and in the Quad Cities Monday afternoon. "By Sunday, we do expect to be crested at Dubuque, cresting at Bellevue, and then still rising from Fulton down to Keokuk."
Wilson says backwater flooding has caused the Rock River to rise at Moline. "The backwater location at the Rock River at Moline, currently, we're about 10.6-10.7 feet. It is forecast to get somewhere up to around that 11-foot stage. That is action stage. It could go a little bit higher up. Backwaters are a little bit harder to forecast than water downstream. But we do expect to be somewhere right around 11 feet."
He says the time it takes for a river to recede is usually about one-and-a-half times longer than it took to crest. This year, that could be seven to ten days, longer if it rains.
The Corps of Engineers had to repair two river gages that were mal-functioning. They were located at Bellevue and LeClaire, and the measurements are accurate again.
