NATCHEZ — The Mississippi River will begin rising again this week, nearly reaching flood stage by the weekend.

The river level on the Natchez gauge was at 44.63 feet as of Monday afternoon, but NWS meteorologist Jim Fairly said that the level is supposed to rise above 47 feet by Saturday.

Flood stage in Natchez is 48 feet.

“We have a front coming through (today), and there could be rains associated with it,” he said “There is a low pressure system moving across the Upper Mississippi and Lower Ohio Valleys, and the water that collects all comes down this way.”

National Weather Service Senior Hydrologist Marty Pope said the current flooding on the Souris River in North Dakota should not affect the water level in the Miss-Lou, because the Souris River flows into Canada and not into the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi.

Pope said two to six inches of rainfall over the Ohio River is the cause of this week’s predicted rise in Natchez.

“Where we were seeing the water levels drop across the board, we are now seeing a slower drop, and in some cases it has even stopped,” he said. “Now we should be beginning to see the water level climb slowly back up in some places.”

Pope said the water level will begin to climb at the Natchez gauge once rain starts falling at the Arkansas River basin and Missouri River areas.

“Local rainfall really has no affect over water levels,” he said. “For Natchez, we have to focus on the Arkansas and Missouri River areas, and the Ohio River.”

Pope said the Ohio River is the area the weather service watches the most to determine what is going on with the Mississippi water levels.

“It bears watching,” he said.

Pope said he does not believe there will be another rise above flood stage at the Natchez gauge in 2011, but staying prepared is the only way to deal with the situation.

“We are just going to have to keep an eye on things,” he said. “As long as we pay attention to the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, we will be able to catch any problems.”

Fairly said the June 1 start of hurricane season also means the weather service has a busy schedule ahead of them.

“As soon as we approach hurricane season, we are all watching out and analyzing everything to be sure we can catch any signs of any trouble,” he said.

Fairly said the 2011 hurricane season is predicted to have 12 to 18 named storms; six to 10 of those could become hurricanes. Of those six to 10, three to six of them are predicted to be major hurricanes, meaning they are classified as category three through five.