Officials with the Corps of Engineers say the low water levels that are restricting shipping traffic, forcing harbor closures and causing towboats and barges to run aground on the Mississippi River, are expected to continue into at least October. Major General John Peabody, commander of the Corps' Mississippi Valley Division, says that five harbors in Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi are closed, and several others have limited access due to low water levels on the river.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard says more than 100 towboats and barges remain backed up near Greenville, Mississippi. The Coast Guard opened an 11-mile stretch of the Mississippi that had been closed near Greenville, replacing it with a five mile zone where only light vessels can pass.