High water soaks the Atchafalaya

The Atchafalaya basin's forests thrive with seasonal flooding, yet high water is normally a spring phenomenon there. During the past month, unusually high water levels have inundated wetlands and forests along and near the Mississippi River basin. From space, floodwaters appear to decrease existing vegetation, as water masks low lying plant cover. According to the USGS, river discharge at Morgan City, Louisiana was 145,000 ft3/sec on January 16, 2012 compared to 84,000 ft3/sec the prior year. (See http://waterdata.usgs.gov.)