Snowpack levels above average, flooding likely

Hold onto those sandbags.

The National Weather Service in

Missoula is predicting potential flooding for western Montana in

May and June.

The snowpack for western Montana is 117

percent of average and more snow is expected this month that will

only add to the snowpack.

“We should see near normal

temperatures,” said Ray Nickless, a hydrologist with the National

Weather Service. “Rain showers mostly in the valleys and mountain

snow should continue to add to the snowpack.”

“That indicates we should expect to see

flooding in western Montana,” Nickless added.

The Kootenai Basin is showing 115

percent of normal for snowpack. The SNOTEL site at Poorman Creek is

showing 140 percent of average. But that’s not unusual, the

snowpack was 182 percent of normal in 1999 at the same spot.

“We’ve had some high snowpack in the

Cabinets,” Nickless said. “It’s not like we haven’t seen it

before.

Most mountain streams are expected to

flood. Nickless predicts flooding high up in the Yaak and Cabinets,

as well as flooding in the Eureka area.

The Fisher River area is also of

concern with 137 percent of average snowpack.

“I expect that to flood,” Nickless

said.

The critical time starts in April when

the smaller streams are in danger of flooding. Then creeks and

rivers have the potential to flood as more snow melts in May and

June.

Precipitation and temperatures during

that time are expected to be around normal.

“In April, May and June temperatures

should be cooler than average, although that doesn’t mean we won’t

get some warm temperatures some days,” Nickless said.

A La Nina weather pattern seems to be

the reason this winter was filled with snow and cold, Nickless

said.

“It’s still affecting the weather, but

it should weaken in the summer months,” he said.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers forecast

released early this month for Libby predicts April through August

runoff at 112 percent of the 1929 to 1999 average.

The April through August inflow

forecast for Koocanusa Reservoir is 121 percent of average for the

1975 to 2009 period of record and 113 percent of average for the

1929 to 1999 period of record.

The current outflow for Libby Dam is

17,000 cubic feet per second.