DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The National Weather Service says several Iowa rivers have an increased risk of flooding this spring.
The service said Thursday in the first of two planned Spring Flood and Water Resource Outlooks that the concerns include snowpack melting rates and high soil moisture.
The report says the probability for flooding “is very high for at least minor flooding along the Mississippi River and most tributary rivers across eastern Iowa.” It also says several waterways on the state’s western and eastern borders have a better than 50 percent chance at flooding and some have a better than 50 percent chance of major flooding.
The service says a fast melt combined with heavy spring rains “could cause high-impact flooding, while a slow melt with little additional precipitation would cause flooding to be much less severe.”
Missouri River flooding is expected along the state’s southwest border.
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