The flood-ravaged Midwest doesn't need more rain, but it may get it anyway.
The National Weather Service predicts several days of wet weather this week in the central U.S. Hydrologist Mark Fuchs said parts of eastern Kansas could get up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain by Friday, and 3 inches (8 centimeters) or more are possible in parts of Iowa and Missouri.
The Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries are already flooding, causing levee breaches and evacuations. Four deaths last week were blamed on floods.
Fuchs said he is especially concerned about the potential for a new rise in the Missouri River, including in areas of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and northwestern Missouri that were flooded in late March.
The new rain also will keep the Mississippi River at major flood stage even longer in many places, putting more pressure on already-stressed levees.
