The unofficial crest at Lock 15 is 21.51 feet, or 6.51 feet above flood stage. That's unofficial and surpasses the seventh highest on record set in 2008. Earlier in the day, the unofficial crest was thought to be 21.45 feet, but the river rose a little more.
Hydrologist Matt Wilson, from the Quad Cities National Weather Service, says a couple of factors caused it to crest slightly lower than predicted, but well within the forecast range.
"All of the streams and tributaries above here, when that water pushes off into the streams and tributaries to create backwater effects, that basically adds extra storage for the Mississippi. So some of that definitely took a couple tenths off of our crest forecast. And then the other thing is that we just didn't get any significant rainfall."
Wilson says the water will recede over the next couple of weeks in the Quad Cities. "We're expecting us to drop below 21 feet, sometime Thursday, Thursday evening, , and then drop below 20 feet by midday next Sunday."
Snowmelt was the main cause of this year's flood. Wilson says that'll be useful for the weather service to update its flood models.
