The Manitoba government’s February flood outlook for the spring and summer isn’t expecting anything too crazy.
The official spring flooding risk is “low to moderate” for the Red, and “low” for the Assiniboine, Souris, Qu’Apelle and Winnipeg rivers.
Lakes are also well within their capacity ranges, the province said.
The Hydrologic Forecast Centre says soil moisture was normal, or below normal, as the ground froze at the start of winter. It said that was followed up with well-below-normal winter precipitation.
As a result, water levels are expected to stay below dikes and other flood protection infrastructure.
“However, the risk of flooding may change depending on weather conditions including amount of precipitation between now and the spring melt,” the province said, adding that the Hydrologic Forecast Centre is keeping its eye on a “potential precipitation system that could impact Manitoba basins in the first week of March.”
The next flood outlook will be released in late March with more accurate details, the government said.
The 2024 spring flood outlook report is available on the province’s website.