Spring river flood outlook released
Flood potential is average or normal this spring for much of the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys and their tributaries in Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky.
The National Weather Service office in Paducah issued its latest flood outlook Thursday, March 9.
The weather service noted that the update would be the last flood outlook for 2023, unless otherwise needed. The outlook is for the period through mid-June.
The weather service cautioned there is “an increasing chance for flooding along the Mississippi River due to the numerous snow events in the upper part of the basin with increased snow depths and water equivalents.”
An increased risk for flooding also exists in Southeast Missouri due to recent heavy rain events.
The weather service stated that recent heavy rainfall had caused increased stream flow in many rivers in the Ohio River basin and across southern Missouri.
“Flooding in this region occurs mainly due to conditions of ground moisture, river flows and expected precipitation,” the weather service reported.
As of early March, minor flooding was occurring across parts of Southern Illinois and along the Ohio River.
Two to five inches of rain had fallen in the region in early March. That was up to 300 percent above normal for the region, the weather service said.
Smaller rivers in Southeast Missouri were running 100 to 150 percent above normal due to recent heavy rainfall.
The Ohio River was running 150 to 180 percent above normal.
Mississippi River flows had increased significantly and were above normal.
Soil moisture conditions were near normal across Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky and were above normal across Southeast Missouri.
Numerous winter storm systems have affected the upper portions of the Mississippi River basin over the past few weeks. Snow water amounts of 4 to 6 inches exist. Minimal melt is expected in the coming weeks.
There was no significant snow in the Ohio River Valley.
“Given all these factors, flood risk is normal across the region,” the weather service stated on March 9.
“Flooding through the spring for most of the area will be mainly dependent on the track of spring storm systems. Flooding along the Mississippi River will also be affected by snow melt from the upper parts of the basin during the outlook period.”
The outlook for March calls for above normal chances for precipitation across the region, the weather service reported. Normal precipitation for March is between 4 and 4 1/2 inches.
The outlook for March through May calls for above normal precipitation.