UPDATE: Floods may not reach NOLA

OMAHA, Neb. – Midwest authorities used boats and vehicles March 16 to rescue and evacuate residents in parts Nebraska after a deluge of rainwater and melting snow slid over frozen ground and overwhelming creeks and rivers. At least one person was killed trying to rescue stranded motorists. Rescuers were thwarted by levee breaches and washouts of bridges and roads in southwest Omaha as floodwaters broke through a levee along the Platte River. There was moderate flooding in Illinois along the Mississippi River, but meteorologist Brian Pierce with the National Weather Service in Davenport, Iowa, said flooding on the Mississippi could get worse in several weeks as snow begins to melt in Minnesota and Wisconsin. "What we're having now is the dress rehearsal for the main event that's going to happen in early April" with flooding on the Mississippi River, he told The Associated Press. (Source: The AP 03/16/19) Gulf Coast Note: Back on March 4, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the New Orleans area along the Mississippi River - unrelated at the time with the Midwest flooding. The warning initially was to remain in effect until March 23. The official flood stage for levees around New Orleans is 17 feet. Floodwalls and structures protect NOLA to 20 feet. This has the potential to be more severe, than first thought back in early March, for lower Louisiana beyond March 23 as those upstream waters begin to inundate the Mississippi River and its tributaries. UPDATE: Mississippi River levels in New Orleans are not likely to be affected by the severe flooding that has impacted residents across four midwestern states, as rising water levels of the Missouri River breached or overtopped nearly 200 miles of levees this week, according to Danielle Manning, a meteorologist with the Slidell office of the National Weather Service. Although the Missouri River is one of the major tributaries to the Mississippi River, meteorologists do not expect to see much of an impact on water levels farther south. Manning told NOLA.com that water levels near the Carrollton gauge in New Orleans are expected to start falling by the end March and early April. A secondary crest is expected around mid-April, but not to the extent the river is rising currently.