JOHNSTON, Iowa — Over the past week there has been much concern over the flooding along the eastern side of the state from the Mississippi River. The predictions call for near-record river levels, and has caused some to be on alert to evacuate.
Some have raised the question when will the flood waters reach central Iowa. The simple answer is that no flooding is forecasted for the other rivers in Iowa.
“The main reason Mississippi is flooding so much right now is because of the deep snow pack that was exiting from Minnesota and Wisconsin,” said Jeff Zogg, Hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Johnston. “The headwaters from the Mississippi river is where that snow is melting and coming into the Mississippi, resulting in the flooding that we’re seeing. For the rivers in Iowa, the deep snow pack was just north of where the river basins begin.”
So while rivers are flowing in central Iowa, a flood is not in the forecast.
“The flood outlook for the state, aside from the Mississippi River, is pretty much or near normal risk of flooding through the spring going into the summer,” said Zogg.
The National Weather Service through it’s partner agencies, which include the Iowa Flood Center, can access over 300 remote river and stream monitoring sites.
“For a larger river like the Mississippi, especially with the snowmelt once the water is in the system, the forecasting is pretty accurate for the most part,” said Zogg. “Of course, the wild card is if you have any rainfall or heavy rain that may fall downstream, that can complicate the forecast.”
Often stream monitoring can be used to get an idea on how severe the drought may be.
“The lowest river conditions are northwestern Iowa, where the drought is more severe,” said Zogg. “We’re expecting the drought conditions to, for the most part, improve.”
Source: who13