Isaac Could Mean Some Relief To Low Mississippi River - NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & Sports

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Rain from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac could help the drought-stricken Mississippi River, but experts said it's not enough for long-term relief.

The Mississippi River is lower than it has been in years, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is busy trying to keep barge traffic flowing on the vital shipping channel.

Marty Pope, a hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, said Isaac dumped rain on areas that feed the lower Mississippi River, but too little for a sustained rise in water level.

Corps spokesman Kavanaugh Breazeale said the river could rise two feet at Vicksburg, Mississippi, over the coming weeks, but it will go down again without more rain.

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