River flooding to accompany warmup in central, eastern US this weekend

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

April 8,2017, 10:27:08AM,EDT

 

 

Water levels will reach moderate flood stage on some of the rivers in the Midwest, Northeast and Southern states as temperatures trend upward this weekend.
While lower-than-average amounts of snow fell on much of the Midwest this past winter, recent rounds of showers and thunderstorms have produced a quick runoff into area small streams and rivers.
Low-lying, unprotected areas along the rivers in the Midwest, including the Illinois, Wabash, Kankakee, Rock, Missouri, Portage, Grand and Saginaw rivers, will take on water.

Some communities without permanent flood protection may need to take action. Some low-lying roads in the area may close due to high water.
Overall, the flooding in the Midwest will not be as serious as that of the past couple of years, when record flooding occurred in some locations.
"We expect this to be a short-term problem and not one that will persist for very long this spring from parts of Missouri, Iowa and Illinois to Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana," according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
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There will likely be more separation between rounds of thunderstorms over the next few weeks, compared to recent days.
"Anticipated building warmth in the region as well as strengthening sunshine should help to speed up evaporation rates and reduce the flooding threat moving forward this spring," Pastelok said.
Farther north in the Central states, flooding may be more significant and last longer.
"Storms with rain and snow are likely to frequent the area near the United States and Canada border in the coming weeks," Pastelok said.

Meanwhile, streams and rivers were already running high in parts of the Northeast prior to heavy rain late this week.
A portion of the Susquehanna River in New York state will experience minor flooding this weekend, following 1 to 3 inches of rain on Thursday. This area received 1 to 3 feet of snow during the middle of March.
The Susquehanna and other rivers in the region will recede later this weekend into early next week.
Some streams and rivers were above flood stage in the Deep South following rounds of torrential downpours and severe thunderstorms.
Moderate flooding will continue along part of the Calcasieu River in Louisiana this weekend, while minor to moderate flooding occurs along the Pearl River in Mississippi into next week.
Similar to the Midwest, there should be more separation between storm systems in the Northeast and Deep South over the next couple of weeks, which should help ease river flooding concerns.
Flooding will also remain a concern in parts of California, Oregon and Washington, following a winter with heavy storms that brought frequent low-elevation rain and mountain snow.