The Red River Looks High, But How Close Is It To Flooding?

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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 makes it look like there is room for concern.

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) there is a Flood Warning in the Caddo, Webster, and Bossier Parish areas, but not for the Red River. The Flood Warning is actually for Bodcau Bayou at Bayou Bodcau Lake.

As far as the Red River goes, NOAA says the Red is actually going down right now. As of this morning (Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021) the Red is just over 22 feet in Shreveport. That's well under the Flood Stage of 30 feet, and even under the "Action Stage" of 26 feet.

Currently there isn't rain in the forecast for the rest of this week in Shreveport, so the predicted trend of the Red River is for it to continue to drop.

This measurement point for the Red River in Shreveport hasn't reached Flood Stage since 2019, but has hit Flood Stage at least half a dozen times since 2015. That stretch includes a couple of historic floods.