Major U.S. Spring Floods Unlikely, NOAA Predicts
Its annual Spring Outlook of flooding potential from April to June says for the first time in four years, no area of the country faces a high risk of major to record spring flooding.
The limited winter snowfall across much of the continental United States has resulted in a reduced risk of spring flooding this year, according to NOAA's annual Spring Outlook, which forecasts the potential for flooding from April to June. Released March 15, it said for the first time in four years, no part of the country faces a high risk of major to record spring flooding.
"We're not forecasting a repeat of recent historic and prolonged flooding in the central and northern U.S., and that is a relief," said Laura Furgione, deputy director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "The severity of any flooding this year will be driven by rainfall more so than the melting of the current snowpack."
The Ohio River basin and parts of Louisiana and Mississippi are the only areas with an above-normal risk of flooding. In those locations, soil moisture and river levels are currently above normal, and above-average April rainfall is predicted for the Ohio River basin.