NATCHEZ — The Mississippi River will once again reach within two feet of flood stage this week, but is projected to start falling by Friday.

The National Weather Service in Jackson projects the river will rise to 46 feet on Wednesday and Thursday, falling just below its 48-feet flood stage marker.

Hydrologist Daniel Pearce with the National Weather Service’s Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center branch said he believes the flux in the river’s height is caused by recent crests in the Ohio River.

“The higher the crest, the more water that flows down stream,” Pearce said. “(A large crest) happened last week on the Ohio River. It seemed to crest on New Year’s Eve. It takes a few days for all that water to flow down to Natchez.”

The Mississippi River is projected to remain at the 46-foot marker for two days.

“A river as big as the Mississippi can take a few days for the crest to peak and slowly fall back down. It’s something that happens with all the points on the Mississippi,” Pearce said.

Senior meteorologist Mike Edmonston said he also believes the rise in the river can be attributed to the Ohio River.

“I suspect the river is rising from the rain from the north,” Edmonston said. “It’s got to be linked to what’s already fallen in snow and the Ohio River feeding into the Mississippi river in our area.

“We don’t have that much rain in the forecast here,” Edmonston said.

But on Jan. 6 with the introduction of a winter system moving through Mississippi, there could be more precipitation than the area has been seeing.

“The system moving in from Wednesday into Thursday at this point doesn’t look like a serious rain threat until you get down into the Natchez area,” Edmonston said.