# Mississippi River Levels Chester Il — Geosirius

> Persistent dry conditions across the Midwest pushed the Mississippi at Chester, Illinois below five feet, well under the April average. The Corps deployed dustpan dredges to keep the nine-foot channel open, and barge operators have cut loads to avoid grounding.

- Date: 2026-04-23 · published 2026-04-23T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/16370-mississippi-river-levels-chester-il-geosirius
- Commodities: [Barge Freight (St. Louis)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BARGE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md), [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md)

## Why it matters

Reduced barge drafts raise per-tonne freight costs and slow grain movement from Illinois and Missouri. Weaker Gulf-bound flows can widen interior basis and pressure cash corn and soybean prices.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- CORN: bearish ▼
- BARGE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CORN | 2026-10-22 | [Water Levels on Lower Mississippi River Starting to Run Low Again](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16332-water-levels-on-lower-mississippi-river-starting-to-run-low-again.md) | -1.2% | — |
| CORN | 2025-08-29 | [Eyes On Mississippi River Levels: A Developing Situation - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16431-eyes-on-mississippi-river-levels-a-developing-situation-agweb.md) | +3.3% | +8.5% |
| CORN | 2025-10-16 | [Drought lowering Mississippi River levels again, disrupting shipping](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16420-drought-lowering-mississippi-river-levels-again-disrupting-shipping.md) | -0.0% | +2.8% |
| CORN | 2023-11-12 | [Historically low water levels on the Mississippi River cause shipping woes \| PBS News Weekend](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16587-historically-low-water-levels-on-the-mississippi-river-cause-shipping-woes-pbs.md) | -0.5% | -1.7% |
| CORN | 2023-06-22 | [Midwest drought has Mississippi River level concerns coming back \| Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16623-midwest-drought-has-mississippi-river-level-concerns-coming-back-iowa.md) | -8.7% | -14.9% |
| SOY | 2026-10-22 | [Water Levels on Lower Mississippi River Starting to Run Low Again](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16332-water-levels-on-lower-mississippi-river-starting-to-run-low-again.md) | -2.3% | — |
| SOY | 2025-08-29 | [Eyes On Mississippi River Levels: A Developing Situation - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16431-eyes-on-mississippi-river-levels-a-developing-situation-agweb.md) | -2.1% | -1.4% |
| SOY | 2025-10-16 | [Drought lowering Mississippi River levels again, disrupting shipping](https://feedsoft.ai/events/16420-drought-lowering-mississippi-river-levels-again-disrupting-shipping.md) | +2.8% | +11.3% |

## Sources

- geosirius.ifz.ru: https://geosirius.ifz.ru/mississippi-river-levels-chester-il

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.