NATCHEZ — Two Adams County roads were closed Monday because of late-season flooding.

The Adams County Board of Supervisors voted on the recommendation of County Road Manager Robbie Dollar to close Thornburg Lake Road and Carthage Point Road, both of which have become inundated by the rising Mississippi River.

Dollar said the gates across the road have already been closed to limit access.

The river at Natchez is expected to stand at 49.9 feet. Flood stage is 48 feet, and the National Weather Services’ Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center is predicting it will reach 50.5 feet by its July 17 crest.

NWS Hydrologist Marty Pope said the current prediction can be considered “moderate flooding.”

The unusually late rise was first driven by rains associated with Tropical Storm Bill last month and has been sustained by wet weather systems since then.

“Over the last seven days we have received, in the upper parts of the Tennessee River Valley, four to six inches of rain,” Pope said.

“All that water got into the reservoirs there, and they had to open that up to let some water come out of the Tennessee River. There were also some heavy rains over Arkansas.”

The river is expected to crest at Cairo, Ill., today, which should lead to drops down the river in the coming weeks.

“We are going to crest at Cairo, but it is going to be a very slow falling even then,” Pope said.

“But once you get into a fall, a good recession there in that part of the river, it will help us out.”

Some heavy rains are expected over Missouri in the next week, which could affect predictions, Pope said.