- The recent snowfall over the past few weeks has called for a slight increase in the risk of flooding for the spring.
- A key factor will be the rate of melt from the existing snowpack and how much precipitation we recieve during the melt period of the snowpack.
- The rate of frost melt beneath the snowpack will also determine the amount of infiltration(process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil) and runoff that will occur.
![]() |
Image Courtesy of NOHRSC |
The NWS in Davenport also listed these as the current conditions as of March 7th, 2013:
- Above normal winter precipitation and snow depth.
- Near to below normal soil moisture.
- Deep frost.
- Near to below normal stream levels.
- Additional precipitation.
- Frost depth and how it interferes with absorption of snow melt and rainfall.
- Potential for ice jam flooding.
Also in these outlooks were calculated probabilities for minor, moderate, and major flooding of rivers for 3/11/13 to 6/9/13. Here are some of the outlooks for some of the area rivers:
- The Pecatonica River near Freeport has a higher than normal probability of exceeding both minor and moderate flooding levels.
- The Rock River near Como has a higher than normal probability of exceeding all levels of minor, moderate, and major flooding.
- The Kishwaukee River near Belvidere has a higher than normal probability for minor flooding, but lower than normal probability for moderate flooding.
Outlook from NWS in Chicago
Eddie Wildermuth
WTVO Weather Intern
No comments:
Post a Comment