OMAHA – Heavy snow and ice over much of the upper Missouri River basin and below normal snow in the mountains will probably result in heavy runoff in March and April and much less in May and June.

The heavy snowpack on the plains is creating high potential for flooding on many of the rivers in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and western Iowa.  In addition, because of the large buildup of ice on the rivers, ice jams may add to the potential flooding issues.

“It’s still too early to make reliable forecasts on potential flooding because so much depends on how much more snow accumulates, how fast it melts, and how much rain adds to the runoff,” said Jody Farhat, chief of the Water Management Office.  “Total storage in the reservoir system is less than our target for this time of year, which means we have plenty of room to collect runoff and hold water in the reservoirs when downstream river levels are high.”

The mountain snowpack is only 71 percent of normal for this time of the year.

Traditionally, 79 percent of the peak accumulation occurs by March 1.  Runoff for 2010 is currently forecast to total 117 percent of normal.

White River Flows, Floods with Ice Jams

Ice jams collect under a bridge on the White River yesterday, Tuesday, March 9, south of the Reliance I-90 exit 251. Courtesy photo.