Floodwaters are receding in all but the Ouachita and White rivers in southern Arkansas, but National Weather Service meteorologists are now keeping watch on the Mississippi River as melting snow and water from the north keeps it inching higher.
Heavy precipitation in the past few weeks pushed scores of rivers and creeks out of their banks, forcing the closures of several state and county roads -- especially in north-central Arkansas.
Arkansas 37 remained closed Friday in Jackson because of high water from the nearby Cache River, and sections of roads were still closed in Independence, Mississippi and Ouachita counties.
The Ouachita River at the Thatcher Lock and Dam in Union County was predicted to crest at 89.4 feet Friday evening before gradually receding next week. Flood stage there is 79 feet.
Workers at the dam removed handrails along the lock to avoid any debris snagging on them when the river rose over them, said Greg Raimondo, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, Miss.
The lock is not used much by commercial traffic, and alternative channels are available, he said.
"The Ouachita is such a flat river, it takes a long time for it to draw down," Raimondo said.
The White River at Georgetown is also rising. Forecasters predict the river will crest at 23 feet at 7 a.m. today and remain at that level through at least Tuesday. Flood stage in the White County town is 21 feet.
"Most of the river waters are receding," said weather service hydrologist Tabitha Clarke of North Little Rock. "But there is more rain on the way."
Clarke said showers were expected to move into the state from the south Friday evening and head north. Little Rock was forecast to receive about three-quarters of an inch of rain through the weekend.
A second shower-producing system is predicted to arrive in the state Thursday.
"It won't be any strong systems," Clarke said. "These storms won't get hung and stick around for a while. There's upper-level support that will push these through quickly."
Workers at the U.S. 63 bridge construction site in Black Rock keep a wary eye on the forecast, said Alan Walter, Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department district construction engineer in Paragould.
Flooding along the Black River, which the new bridge traverses, has put construction behind for at least two weeks, he said.
Crews had placed supplies and equipment underneath the span to allow easy access but were forced to move them to higher ground as the river rose.
"This slows the work down," Walter said. "We're making progress. We're about 80 percent done. If we get reasonable weather, we can make progress."
He said he anticipates the bridge opening for traffic in late April or early May.
City workers at Patterson continued pumping water from an area west of downtown that floods when the Cache River rises, said City Clerk Peggy King. The river crested at 11.85 feet on Monday and gradually receded, dropping to 11.2 feet Friday afternoon. Flood stage in the Woodruff County town is 8 feet.
She said officials weren't worried about the forecast of rain.
"It all depends upon how much rain we get at one time," King said. "If it's a slow rain, we'll be fine."
In Helena-West Helena, the Mississippi River continued to slowly rise. On Friday afternoon, the river was at 38.5 feet. Forecasters expect the river to crest at 40.5 feet Tuesday. Flood stage there is 44 feet.
Gabriel Ferebee, a manager at the Helena Marine Service on the banks of the Mississippi River, watched as large debris floated downstream. Water lapped about 3 feet from the business, which provides barge terminal service.
Water doesn't reach the service's grounds until the river rises to 42 feet.
Workers were building a new section of the terminal about 4 feet higher; in 2011, the river reached 56.6 feet -- the third-highest mark recorded -- and flooded the service.
"The river is high," he said. "I'm seeing tons of trees coming down in the drift."
Although the river was expected to crest Tuesday, meteorologists are watching it closely. Record snowfall in the Ohio River Valley has melted, sending runoff into the river basins and down through the Mississippi River.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report Thursday saying it expected moderate flooding in the Ohio and Mississippi river basins this spring.
"We'll watch the river," Clarke said. "As wet as everything is now, 1 inch of rain equals 1 inch of runoff."
She said the Mississippi River would have seen higher levels from heavy snows in Kentucky last month had the weather remained colder. Instead, temperatures rose, and the snow melted gradually.
"There wasn't a drastic melt all at once," she said.
Ferebee said he wasn't all that concerned with the forecast of more rain in his area.
"We're worried about when it rains in Ohio and the runoff comes down here," he said. "When it rains here, the river is so big. It's just like peeing in a bucket. It doesn't really affect much."
State Desk on 03/21/2015