The Mississippi River crested in Vicksburg this morning at 57.1 feet, above the 1927 mark by nearly a foot, and is forecast to hang near there through Saturday before a painfully slow recession of water begins.

High stages on the Yazoo River are expected to hold the Mississippi’s crest in Vicksburg, said Marty Pope, senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. The Yazoo River at Yazoo City was at 38.26 feet this morning, up four-tenths of a foot. The Yazoo is forecast to crest at 39 feet by Monday.

“There’s backwater all the way up to Belzoni,” Pope said.

Levels will stay above 50 feet in Vicksburg until mid-June and above the 43-foot flood stage until late June, according to Corps of Engineers estimates. The level at 10 a.m. was 56.98 feet in Vicksburg.