'Ice bite' could drop Mississippi River levels even more - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

'Ice bite' could drop Mississippi River levels even more

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Todd Tumminia - bio | email
The river is open from 10 p.m. to 6 am. The river is open from 10 p.m. to 6 am.
Dan Overbey at the SEMO Port Authority says "ice bite" could drop levels by more than a foot. Dan Overbey at the SEMO Port Authority says "ice bite" could drop levels by more than a foot.
Overbey says spring will come and the river will come back, but until then it's going to be rough. Overbey says spring will come and the river will come back, but until then it's going to be rough.
SCOTT COUNTY, MO (KFVS) -

The Mississippi River continues to fall due to an ongoing drought. Now with the recent cold temperatures, the Army Corps of Engineers is worried this will hurt levels even more.

The New Year begins the same way 2012 ended at the SEMO Port Authority with lots of unanswered questions, and the worst still yet to come.

Dan Overbey at the SEMO Port Authority says "ice bite" could drop levels by more than a foot. "Ice bite" is when streams or rivers that feed into the Mississippi River freeze over and shut off water to it.

"Water freezes up and all the creeks and streams that feed the river, some in the river itself, then the river quits flowing-at least the amount of flow is reduced," said Overbey. "That means the river level drops quite rapidly."

It's a problem that would only further damage the Mississippi. It's a river that's nearing record lows.

Overbey says spring will come and the river will come back, but until then it's going to be rough.

The river is open from 10 p.m. to 6 am.

While it's closed, crews continue to excavate rocks parts around Thebes, Illinois.

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