Disastrous spring floods loom for half of the United States
The historic floods that hit the Great Plains last week are perhaps just the start of a very wet and destructive spring. That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s spring weather outlook, which warns of the likelihood of moderate to major flooding in 25 of the Lower 48 states through May.
The worst flood risk is clustered around the Central and Southern U.S., along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Some of the hardest-hit states include the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. Here’s what to expect this spring and in years to come.
Snow, rain and cold
Wet and snowy conditions are boosting flood risks across the states. This winter was the wettest on record in the contiguous United States, according to NOAA data, which dates back to 1895. In fact, parts of the Eastern and Central U.S. have had an unusually wet past nine months or year, says Bryan Peake, service climatologist at the Midwestern Regional Climate Center. In Wisconsin, the March 2018 through February 2019 period was wetter than any previously recorded 12 months, he says.
Some areas of the Great Plains got double their usual rain and snow this winter, including the Red River of the North basin along the borders of Minnesota and North Dakota, according to the NOAA report. Soils in the Midwest and East Coast absorbed as much water as they could from these storms, becoming saturated. February also brought freezing temperatures, turning the ground in some places to ice. That could cause further trouble as temperatures are ticking back up. Just like the early March “bomb cyclone”, spring storms would bring about flooding due to soils’ already-soaked or frozen state, since water would run across the ground and into rivers and streams. Rain and warming temperatures would also melt snow, increasing the amount of runoff going into waterways. In some places, “ice jams” blocking rivers can making flooding even worse.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/disastrous-spring-floods-loom-for-half-of-the-united-states/ar-BBVj8nf?li=BBnb7Kz
