116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa flooding risk subsiding, National Weather Service says
A gradual spring thaw has slightly reduced area flood risks during the past three weeks, the National Weather Service said Friday.
The service, in its third spring flood outlook of the season, rated the risk of Cedar River flooding here this spring at 64 percent greater than normal, which compares with a rating of 69 percent greater than normal in the Feb. 19 report.
For the Iowa River at Iowa City, the spring flood risk is rated at 22 percent greater than normal, down from 26 percent three weeks ago.
Above-freezing daytime high temperatures alternating with subfreezing overnight lows “have been very favorable for a slow rate of snowmelt,” said hydrologist Maren Stoflet at the Weather Service's Quad Cities office.
A projected continuation of that pattern during the next week, coupled with only moderate amounts of precipitation projected for the same period, could further reduce the risk of snowmelt flooding in Eastern Iowa, she said.
The National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis., whose coverage area includes northeast Iowa, described recent conditions as an “ideal snowmelt scenario.”
Although the risk has slightly moderated, above-normal snowpack, soil moisture and stream flows still pertain throughout the Upper Midwest, Stoflet said.
A gradual spring thaw has slightly reduced area flood risks during the past three weeks, the National Weather Service said Friday.
The service, in its third spring flood outlook of the season, rated the risk of Cedar River flooding here this spring at 64 percent greater than normal, which compares with a rating of 69 percent greater than normal in the Feb. 19 report.
For the Iowa River at Iowa City, the spring flood risk is rated at 22 percent greater than normal, down from 26 percent three weeks ago.
Above-freezing daytime high temperatures alternating with subfreezing overnight lows “have been very favorable for a slow rate of snowmelt,” said hydrologist Maren Stoflet at the Weather Service's Quad Cities office.
A projected continuation of that pattern during the next week, coupled with only moderate amounts of precipitation projected for the same period, could further reduce the risk of snowmelt flooding in Eastern Iowa, she said.
The National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis., whose coverage area includes northeast Iowa, described recent conditions as an “ideal snowmelt scenario.”
Although the risk has slightly moderated, above-normal snowpack, soil moisture and stream flows still pertain throughout the Upper Midwest, Stoflet said.
Links to NWS flooding risk reports:
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