River Flooding In North Dakota & How It May Affect Us

It's finally starting to feel like spring across eastern Iowa and northern Illinois.  With the exception of some light rain (around one-tenth of an inch) in our far southern hometowns Saturday, this will be a dry and warmer weekend.  Highs in the 60s and 70s Sunday will be warming to close to 80° by Tuesday.

The dry weather this weekend will also give area rivers a chance to drop more from the major flooding of last weekend.  While the Rock River in Moline and Joslin, Illinois, will remain in flood until further notice, many locations along the Mississippi River will drop below flood stage by the end of next week.

However, we have two things that we'll have to watch very closely over the next week.  More rain will begin falling in scattered fashion Monday and Tuesday with better chances of showers and thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday.

We've been talking a lot about the two to four feet of snow that is still on the ground across the Dakotas and Minnesota.  Saturday temperatures were in the 60s and 70s and that heavy snow pack is starting to melt and flood the Red River.

 

As you can see from this Red River forecast in East Grand Forks, North Dakota, river levels will be rising another 13 feet over the next week and that water will eventually be making its way southward.

So, while the Mississippi is dropping locally now, it may be temporary.

We'll be monitoring this very closely for you in the weeks to come.

CBS4 Meteorologist Anthony Peoples