The Lower Mississippi River Water Trail

Intro: Greenville: Water Levels

For this portion of Rivergator Trail we refer to the Greenville Gauge which we’ll denote as “GG.”  Further downstream (at Lake Providence) we’ll switch over to the Vicksburg Gauge which we’ll denote as “VG.”  For daily river levels and weekly forecasts, go to

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/?n=lmrfc-mississippiandohioriverforecast

 

Water levels according to the Greenville Gauge

 

Low Water = 0 to 25 GG 

Medium Water = 25 to 38 GG

High Water = 38 to 47 GG

Flood Stage = 48 GG and above

GG = Greenville Gauge

 

Flood Stage Warning: above 48 GG paddlers are advised to stay off the river.  Limited access.  Most landings and approach roads will be underwater.  Most islands will be gone.  No easy camping.  All sandbars will be covered.  Fast waters with many hazards.  All islands and landings will be surrounded by flooded forests full of snags, strainers, sawyers and all other dangerous conditions associated with floodwater moving through trees.  Docks, wharves, dikes and any other man-made objects will create strong whirlpools, violent boils, and fast eddies.  Towboats will create large waves.  The Rivergator will not describe the river and its islands at any levels above flood stage. 

 

Lower Mississippi and Ohio River Forecast

The Lower Mississippi and Ohio River Forecast is a fascinating document and will reveal many qualities of the river to the careful reader and interpreter of this gauge.  You can also jump from this page following its links to many associated NOAA pages full of useful information about the various Lower Mississippi River Gauges, as well as historical records, flood records, low water occurrences, observed precipitation throughout the valley, snowpack, ground saturation, rain forecasts, and other meteorological and hydrologic aspects leading to current river conditions and accurate predictions.  You can also follow links to the same for readings and predictions from the Ohio River Valley, the Middle Miss, Upper Miss and Missouri River Valleys, which all of course confluence and combine to form the big waters of the Lower Mississippi River.