A relentless rain and melted snow combined to push the Ohio River higher than originally forecasted.

On Friday, in issuing a FLOOD WARNING for the Ohio River near Cincinnati and a FLOOD WATCH for the surrounding region, the National Weather Service predicted that the river would crest at 55-feet on Sunday morning.

That number is now 58-feet.

The river will rise above the moderate flood stage of 56-feet late Saturday morning and will crest at 58-feet by early Sunday afternoon. Buy Sunday evening, the river will gradually begin falling but is expected to remain above flood stage of 52-feet for at least the next five days.

Covington officials have deemed it necessary to construct its flood wall on Madison Avenue. The wall takes ten hours to build.

At 58-feet, homes and businesses in the region are affected. Backwater flooding results in evacuations along the Little Miami River. Communities expected to be hit the hardest include Cincinnati's East End and New Richmond in Ohio, while Bromley and Ludlow appear to be most threatened in Kentucky. Parts of Downtown Cincinnati like Freeman Avenue and Mehring Way, as well as the area between Gest and Elm Streets on Pete Rose Way are in the path of possible flooding, too.

See photos of the high water Friday evening at The River City News Facebook page.

-Staff report

Photo: Sandbags at Covington Landing/RCN