Photos

Properties Flood As Mississippi River Crests (PHOTOS)

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Floodwaters surround a home along the Mississippi River on May 1, 2023, near Bellevue, Iowa. Although the Mississippi River crested in the area on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, the River at Bellevue is not expected to drop below major flood stage until next weekend. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Floodwaters surround a home along the Mississippi River on May 1, 2023, near Bellevue, Iowa. Although the Mississippi River crested in the area on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, the River at Bellevue is not expected to drop below major flood stage until next weekend. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

At a Glance

Homes and buildings are seen surrounded by floodwaters in Iowa.
The Mississippi River has crested at several locations over the past few days.
In some areas, the water could take days or weeks to go back down below flood stage.

Photos from Iowa and Illinois show the swollen Mississippi River after the river crested over the weekend due to melting snow from Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The river reached its peak on Saturday in parts of southwest Wisconsin and northeast Iowa and crested midday Monday in Davenport Iowa and nearby cities both in Iowa and across the river in Illinois' Rock Island and Moline.

Though photos show homes surrounded by floodwaters, the Associated press reported just two minor levee breaks south of Bellevue, Iowa, and in Camanche, Iowa, and that no homes were damaged.

(MORE: Rising River Creeps Toward Baseball Stadium)

The river crested in the Dubuque area Saturday at just over 23 feet, which is well below the record of 25.7 feet. Officials said the city’s floodwall mitigated any major flooding. It will still be several days before the river falls below its flood stage in these areas.

The upper Mississippi River is experiencing its worst flooding in decades, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The water was receding faster than expected Monday along the Wisconsin and Minnesota border, however it could be weeks before the river returns to normal in the region.

Three towns in Iowa—LaCrosse, McGregor, and Guttenberg— saw their third-highest flooding on record, according to the National Weather Service.

While flooding along the Mississippi is common in spring, this year brought an unusually heavy snowpack to the north.

Click through the slideshow above to see images of the flooding.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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