VICKSBURG, Miss. —  The Army Corps of Engineers says it does not expect floodwater to go over a Mississippi levee that's
protecting thousands of acres of farmland.

Officials had initially feared that the Yazoo Backwater Levee north of Vicksburg could be overtopped by a foot, flooding tens of thousands more acres of farmland in the lower Mississippi Delta.

But on Wednesday, forecasters lowered their expectation for how high floodwaters will get. They're now forecasting that the Mississippi River will crest at Vicksburg at 57.1 feet on Thursday, down a few inches from recent predictions.

Corps spokesman Wayne Stroupe says that means if water does go over the Yazoo Backwater Levee, it would be only a trickle.