Early forecasts show possibility of spring flooding

   Winter is not even a month old, yet some weather forecasters are already raising concern about spring flooding along the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa.

   The National Weather Service office in the Quad Cities, which serves east central and southeast Iowa as well as adjacent portions of Illinois and Missouri, released an outlook Jan. 6 that noted heavy snow pack in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that could lead to problems in eastern Iowa despite the area’s relatively dry early winter.

   According to the report, the highest precipitation amounts fell across the northern parts of the region through December. Despite warm conditions, the snowpack over Minnesota and Wisconsin was able to build up through early January. Snowpack is currently ranging from 1 to 6 inches of water equivalent, while a large part of the region has no snow on the ground.

For more of this story see the Jan. 15 Outlook.