WINNIPEG – What was the worst winter in more than a century still lingers weeks into spring. Despite an unusual amount of ice on the Red River, water levels continue to rise.
The threat of an ice jam is also creating concerns; an amphibex is now stationed on standby in Winnipeg just in case conditions don’t change soon.
At the Winnipeg Rowing Club, volunteers spent Saturday morning sandbagging the side facing the Red River, it’s one of the low-lying areas around the city that’s been hit by floods in previous years. Friday’s efforts were precautionary.
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“I get the sense this is cautionary and hopefully we don’t need to see water this high but I’d rather have it in place than not,” said Eric Johnston, a volunteer and member of the Winnipeg Rowing Club. “The consequences of it not being in place are real.”
The extreme cold this winter followed by the prolonged cold this spring has made this spring’s melt less-than-eventful so far. There have been isolated ice jams and flooding but nothing major. But for other parts of the province the runoff hasn’t even gotten underway yet.
Now with a major storm making its way into the province that could see up to 25 cm of rain or snow in some parts this weekend, forecasters are on alert.
“There are areas of the province where the runoff hasn’t even started,” said Steve Topping, executive director for Manitoba Hydrologic Forecasting. “These areas still have their snowpack in place and this snow or precipitation will add to the snow pack in these areas… we could see a increase is the flood potential in these areas.”
It’s far too early to tell whether the flood risk will change, the province’s flood forecasters won’t know until the storm has passed.
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