Web Portal Changes: The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) hosted at https://water.weather.gov will be replaced by the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS), with a target of March 2024. Existing AHPS content and features will be preserved and expanded within NWPS.

Experimental National Water Center Products: The National Hydrologic Discussion, Area Hydrologic Discussion, and Flood Hazard Outlook, and real-time geospatial services depicting River Forecast Center and National Water Model forecasts, continue to be accessible via https://www.weather.gov/owp/operations, as described in the StoryMap here.

Weather Forecast Office Paducah, KY

Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center

Hydrograph

River at a Glance

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Probability Information Weekly Chance of Exceeding Levels Chance of Exceeding Levels During Entire Period Short-term Probabilistic Guidance (Experimental)

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Printable Image About this graph Tabular Data (UTC) Tabular Data (CDT) Datum: Not Available Metadata

NOTE: River forecasts for this location take into account past precipitation and the precipitation amounts expected approximately 48 hours into the future from the forecast issuance time. NOTE: Forecasts for the Ohio River at Cairo are issued routinely year-round.

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Upstream Gauge

Downstream Gauge

Flood Categories (in feet) Major Flood Stage: 53 Moderate Flood Stage: 47 Flood Stage: 40 Action Stage: 32 Low Stage (in feet): 9.2 Historic Crests (1) 61.72 ft on 05/02/2011 (2) 59.50 ft on 02/03/1937 (3) 56.51 ft on 03/01/2019 (4) 56.50 ft on 04/03/1975 (5) 56.40 ft on 04/20/1927 Show More Historic Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Recent Crests (1) 47.11 ft on 03/03/2022 (P) (2) 40.58 ft on 01/12/2022 (P) (3) 47.01 ft on 04/04/2021 (4) 52.64 ft on 03/31/2020 (5) 56.51 ft on 03/01/2019 Show More Recent Crests (P): Preliminary values subject to further review. Low Water Records (1) -1.00 ft on 12/24/1871 (2) 0.30 ft on 12/30/1876 (3) 1.10 ft on 01/01/1877 Show More Low Water Records For more information on your flood risk go to www.floodsmart.gov. Show FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layers not showing? Why aren't the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers showing on the ESRI Map? Possible reasons: There are no FEMA National Flood Hazard Layers for the location which you are viewing on ESRI Maps. The FEMA Web Mapping Service (WMS) is down. Note: Your zoom level may have changed. ESRI's zoom levels must be between 14 and 16 to show National Flood Hazard layers.

Zoom Level:16 Legend FEMA Layer Gauge Location Disclaimer Latitude/Longitude Disclaimer: The gauge location shown in the above map is the approximate location based on the latitude/longitude coordinates provided to the NWS by the gauge owner.

Flood Impacts & Photos

If you notice any errors in the below information, please contact our Webmaster
65	The river will reach the top of the protection at Mounds and Mound City.
64	The river will reach the top of the protection of Cairo.
61.72	This flood will exceed the highest stage on record.
56	U.S. Highway 51 near Wickliffe is flooded.
50	The first gate is closed at Cairo.
40	Minor flooding occurs affecting mainly agricultural bottomland and low lying areas.
32	Cairo begins pumping operations.
Photos (1) Gage House (2) Ohio River Downstream (3) Confluence Looking Toward Cairo (4) Confluence at Fort Defiance (5) Confluence Looking Up Mississippi

About This Location

Latitude: 37.000000° N, Longitude: 89.162500° W, Horizontal Datum: NAD27 River Stage Reference Frame Gauge Height Flood Stage Uses NWS stage 0 ft 40 ft Interpreting hydrographs and NWS watch, warnings, and forecasts, and inundation maps Vertical Datum Elevation (gauge height = 0) Elevation (gauge height = flood stage) Elevation information source NAVD88 270.87 310.87 Survey grade GPS equipment, FEMA flood plain maps, newer USGS topographic maps NGVD 29 270.47 310.47 Older USGS topographic maps, NGVD29 benchmarks MSL Not Available Not Available Older USGS topographic maps, MSL benchmarks Other 270.9 ft 310.9 ft Ohio River Datum

Resources

Hydrologic Resources Text Products Past Precipitation Forecast Precipitation River Forecast Centers River Stage Summary National Precipitation Graphics Water Resources Outlook - Ohio River Valley Excessive Rainfall Outlook Inundation Mapping Locations OHRFC Ensemble River Forecasts NCRFC Ensemble River Forecasts LMRFC Ensemble River Forecasts Add'l Mississippi/Ohio River Information

Additional Resources Area Hydrographs NWS Precipitation and River Forecasting AHPS Iframes for Developers Mobile iNWS for emergency management Snow Information Drought Information U.S. Water Monitor USGS WaterWatch USGS WaterAlert USACE RiverGages TVA Lake Information Midwest Regional Climate Center Additional Precipitation Information CoCoRaHS Precipitation Precipitation Frequencies

Collaborative Agencies The National Weather Service prepares its forecasts and other services in collaboration with agencies like the US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Park Service, ALERT Users Group, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and many state and local emergency managers across the country. For details, please click here. NWS Information National Weather Service Paducah Weather Forecast Office 8250 Highway 3520 West Paducah, KY 42086-6440 (270) 744-6440 Ask Questions/Webmaster Page last modified: 2-Nov-2020 7:29 PM Disclaimer Credits Glossary Privacy Policy About Us Career Opportunities