The Mississippi River at Vicksburg this morning took two more high-water steps into the history books as it pushed its way to a crest still nine days away.

The river was 52.8 feet, up nine-tenths of a foot, and climbing past the 51.6 crest in 1973 and 50.9 in 2008. The river is forecast to crest at Vicksburg on May 19 at 57.5 feet, 1.3 past the historic 1927 flood.

In Memphis, the river crested this moring at 48 feet. The slow rise to that level means crest forecasts downriver, including Vicksburg, should stay on target, said Marty Pope, senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service.

Rain forecast in Vicksburg and the South Delta Thursday night will have a “limited impact” on the river’s pace, but isolated showers might worsen backwater flooding, Pope said.