(Newsweek) – The Mississippi River was expected to crest on Saturday, but experts predict the mighty river will now keep rising through Monday. Hundreds of barges carrying cargo up and down the water artery have been stalled, and railway and highway shutdowns have affected farmers in the Midwest. “It’s sort of like Mike Tyson’s quote, everybody’s got a plan until you get punched in the face, right?” Chris Boerm, a transportation manager for a large agricultural commodities dealer, told Bloomberg. “Every day we come in and we’ve got a plan.
But then it rains three inches somewhere overnight where it wasn’t expected, and the plan changes.” The problem began during early spring when heavy rains followed heavy snowfall throughout states like Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. As snow melted and ran off into the Mississippi River, heavy storms moved through the Great Plains region. The National Weather Service reported on Saturday it expects the river to reach 46 feet by Sunday, which is 16 feet above flood stage. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the river at 45.74 feet on Saturday afternoon. READ MORE
