Flood potential minimal this spring
<p>Mountain snowpack in the Flathead River Basin is 116 percent of average. (Patrick Booth photo/Mystic Creek Studios)</p>
The snowpack above the Flathead River Basin is at 116 percent of average, but the National Weather Service is downplaying flood potential this spring.
“The reason it’s kind of up there is because it’s not melting,” hydrologist Ray Nickless said of the snowpack. “It should be melting by now, but it’s just sitting there with the cold weather we’ve had. Plus, we had a pretty decent snowstorm last week.”
Snowpack above the Kootenai River Basin is at 113 percent of average because of similar conditions.
Nickless said temperatures have been 3 to 6 degrees below the historic average for April, but sometimes even lower.
On Tuesday, for instance, temperatures were 10 degrees below the average temperatures for this time of year.
“I think you will probably see in the Flathead drainage streams at above-average flows mainly from snowmelt,” Nickless said. “I think it will be running good and high, and the kicker will be whether we get lasting warm temperatures.”
He added that the frequency, intensity and locations of spring rains can also play into the equation for flood potential.