VIDALIA — The National Weather Service on Tuesday raised the Mississippi River crest forecast in Natchez to 57.2 feet, which the river is expected to reach on March 21.

The projection is slightly up from last week’s forecast of a 57 foot crest but is still below the third highest crest of 57.83 feet reached at Natchez on March 13.

Fortunately, area leaders said, the weather forecast for the area is clear for several days.

“Thank God we are on 10 days of good weather,” said Buz Craft, mayor of Vidalia. “The rain chance this weekend doesn’t look like it is going to be that substantial, so we’re hopeful that maybe it is going to pick up momentum and start heading down.”

Craft said he monitors the projections several times a day.

“We will continue to watch and make sure we do everything we can to stay on top of it,” Craft said. “If something comes up we can address it pretty quick to take care of it. We are ready to go, just waiting to see what the rain does. That is the biggest question right now is the rain.”

Craft said he also is concerned about how high the river has been for a few months.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Mississippi River at Natchez was at 56.56 feet.

“I just hope this isn’t a trend that will continue on,” Craft said. “It has been up — just been up, up, up.”