WINNIPEG – There’s a good chance rivers in southern Manitoba will spill over their banks again this spring.
The provincial government released its first flood outlook last week. The province’s natural resources minister Albert Driedger said his department is planning for the possibility of major floods.
There’s a lot of snow, between 150 and 200 percent of normal. Soil moisture is also higher than usual because of heavy rains last fall.
In a press release, Driedger said how critical the situation gets depends on how the snow melts. “An early, gradual melt with little precipitation could allow the flood potential to dissipate,” he said.
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However, the province could face serious floods if it gets more snow and a warm spring with lots of rain.
Regional outlook
Based on information up to Feb. 21, the province has the following outlook:
- Red River flooding will be more extensive than last spring. With adverse weather, the odds of a severe flood, like 1979, are one in 10.
- The Assiniboine River will flood from St. Lazare to just west of Brandon, even with normal weather. Regions higher up the river should not experience flooding.
- The Souris River will flood agricultural land from the U.S. border to Hartney. If weather is bad, odds of extreme flooding are less than one in 10.
- Tributaries of the Red and Souris rivers are likely to flood low-lying farmland.
- Pembina, Whitemouth and Brokenhead rivers are also likely to flood.
- If weather is bad, serious flooding could also occur on streams flowing off the Riding and Duck Mountain regions, and the Icelandic, Fisher and Whitemud rivers.
The department will release an updated flood outlook at the end of March.
