Wet, Wild And High: Lakes and Rivers Wreak Havoc Across Midwest, South
Parts of the Mississippi have been above flood stage for months. All of the Great Lakes are at or near record-high levels. It's halting barge traffic, damaging infrastructure and eroding shorelines.
"Water, water everywhere." That line from poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge could be the mantra for rain-weary residents across the country. Some regions have seen record amounts of rain since early spring. The Mississippi River and tributaries spent months above flood stage, while all of the Great Lakes are nearly at or above historic highs.
Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit, says data show that the Great Lakes have been on the rise for several years, especially in recent months.
"In the months of April and May we had extremely wet weather across the Great Lakes Basin," says Kompoltowicz, "and
