How Close is the Red River to Flood Stage in Shreveport?

The Shreveport and Bossier area has seen plenty of rain over the last few weeks. That's added some volume to the Red River, and some concern for local residents.

If you drive over or near the Red River in the Shreveport or Bossier City area, you've probably witnessed an 'angry' looking river. The visual of the Red River suggests the river might be close to flood stage.

Near I-220, the Red River is over some of its common banks, and looks high against some of the nearby trees. Other stretches of the river appear to be encroaching on the banks as well. Driving over the Jimmie Davis Bridge, you may notice some higher levels along the banks too.

But what do the official numbers say?

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Weather Service, there is a Flood Warning in the Caddo and Bossier Parish areas, even though the Red River itself hasn't reached official flood stage yet, but it's close.

Right now NOAA says the Red River is at 28.88 feet, and the "Minor" flood stage is at 30 feet. Though the "Action" level is 26 feet, so we are currently over that level along the river.

The same NOAA prediction has the Red River topping out at 29.50 feet in the next few days. That would still be below the "Minor" flood stage, but close enough that any rain upstream could push us over. So keeping an eye on the forecast will be important.

Currently there isn't rain in the forecast for the rest of this weekend in Shreveport, but Monday could bring more wet weather to the area. With a river that has already swelled to just below flood stage, it wouldn't take much rainfall to push us over.