National Weather Service: River has crested at just under 22 feet in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Officials from the National Weather Service say Cedar Rapids residents can expect flooding to continue into early next week, although the biggest punch is coming today.

Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz announced during a morning news conference the Cedar River crested at 22 feet this morning. National Weather Service officials confirmed the crest at just under 22 feet at around 10 a.m.

Dave Cousins, a meteorologist in the Quad Cities, said the river is flowing somewhere between 84,000 to 85,000 cubic feet per second — in contrast to the typical 24,000 cubic feet per second.

'That's just quite a bit more water than normal for this time of year,' Cousins said.

According to the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, the Cedar River is to remain at major flood stage — 16 feet or higher — until Friday afternoon, at which time it is expected to return to moderate flood stage — 14 to 16 feet. The river is forecast to be back at minor flood stage — 12 to 14 feet — Saturday afternoon.

On Monday, the river is expected to return to 'action stage,' which is 10 to 12 feet.

Overall, Cousins recommends residents pay attention to the forecast, and heed local instructions in regards to safety.

There's a slight chance of overnight showers today into Wednesday, Cousins said, but not an amount that would have a major impact on river levels.

The rest of the week's forecast shows mostly sunny skies with temperatures ranging from the lower 60s to lower 70s, according to the National Weather Service.