NATCHEZ — The first Mississippi River curveball to get past local leaders and flood watchers crossed through the Miss-Lou Friday — well, really Thursday — with little fanfare.

The river crested earlier and lower than National Weather Service predictions.

In fact, according to unofficial NWS numbers the actual crest was 61.91 feet on Thursday.

But it wasn’t until early Friday afternoon that the NWS veered from its predicted crest of 62.1 feet on Saturday to say the river was, in fact, “cresting.”

And the status will remain just that — “cresting” — for several days before it becomes appropriate to change the tense to crested.

Regardless, it’s good news, Natchez City Engineer David Gardner said.

“We are very encouraged that it did (begin to) crest,” he said. “I kind of suspected it this morning. We were looking at the river and it looked a little different.”

Gardner said the current had changed, moving further from the bank and driftwood started to appear along the edges.

The lower-than-predicted crest was especially nice considering the area was preparing for 65 feet of water several weeks ago, officials said.

The lower Mississippi River level can be attributed to one cause and one effect, said NWS Service Coordination Hydrologist Jeff Graschel of the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center.

The area — especially around the Red and Ouachita rivers — didn’t see much rain, he said.

In turn, the Old River Control Structure was able to redirect more Mississippi River water into those rivers, Graschel said.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydrologic technician Wayland Hill said the Old River complex splits the Mississippi River so that 70 percent runs down the main path and 30 percent is shifted to ultimately empty in the Atchafalaya Basin.

He said back up into the Big Black River Basin and flooding in Port Gibson may have also lowered the river’s water level by providing storage for the water.

When early crests were made, and even each day this week, the NWS had no way of knowing how much water would be able to be redirected through the Old River Control Structure.

In addition, the river’s crest was lower than predicted in Vicksburg and Arkansas City, Ark.

An official crest number is not yet known, and won’t be available until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers verifies it, Graschel said.

The actual crest number may vary slightly due to a variety of conditions, including wind, which may blow more water over the gauge or boat wakes.

The river is expected to sit at approximately 61.8 feet — though its exact level Friday night was 61.77 — through Monday. It will decline, very slowly, from that point on, according to NWS predictions.

Graschel said no rain that would affect the water level is currently predicted.

“We are not really anticipating we’d go up to higher levels at the Natchez gauge,” he said. “We’ve gotten good falls above already.”

Gardner said the city encountered no new problems Friday but said the biggest unknowns remain ahead.

“Once the river goes down, we may start seeing some issues that were not exposed while the river was up,” he said.

With the exception of the failure of one pump being used to remove water from the Under-the-Hill sewer lift station, Gardner said so far nothing that has occurred with the river’s rise was unexpected considering the record high river levels.

“If there was a good thing about it, it allowed us time to prepare,” he said. “Based on elevations, we knew what those critical areas were.”

Now, Gardner is beginning to talk about receding waters, not rising ones.

He’s worried about major erosion at the foot of Roth Hill and maybe a few problems on Silver Street.

Once the water level drops below 60 feet, it will be feasible to re-supply water and sewer to the businesses at Under-the-Hill.

But true comfort is weeks away; the river is only expected to drop to 50 feet on June 10. Flood stage at Natchez is 48 feet.

“You are never really safe until it gets way down there,” he said. “If you can get below 55, you start getting into more of a comfort zone.”

Still, the word “cresting” meant little to the employees of J.M. Jones Lumber Company Friday who had planned to be celebrating their 100th anniversary as a business that day.

Instead, employees and owners spent the afternoon furiously dumping more sandbags on a weak spot in the company’s newly raised levee.

The structure settled Friday, dropping the top of one section of the levee several feet below the ideal height — just a few feet above the water.

Confidence is no longer present at the lumber mill site.

“You know today marks our 100th anniversary in this place. It may well be our last day,” owner Lee Jones said.