This is the second of three planned Spring Flood Outlooks for 2020 for the NWS Quad Cities Hydrologic Service Area, which covers portions of eastern Iowa, northwest and west central Illinois, and extreme northeast Missouri. Rivers included in this outlook are the Mississippi River and its tributaries from above Dubuque, Iowa to below Gregory Landing, Missouri. The primary tributary systems include the Maquoketa, Wapsipinicon, Cedar, Iowa, Skunk, North Skunk, and Des Moines Rivers in Iowa; the Fox River in Missouri; and the Pecatonica, Rock, Green, and La Moine Rivers in Illinois.
This outlook is for the time period from early March through May.
.Flood Outlook Overview…
Overall, conditions have not changed much since the first outlook was released on February 13th. The risk for flooding remains highest along the mainstem Mississippi River, where the probabilities for flooding are similar to where they were two weeks ago. Local rivers have seen a slight lowering of probabilities as local snowpack has mostly melted since mid-February.
The eventual severity of any flooding will depend on additional precipitation, the rate of snowmelt, and spring-time rains. There will also be a risk for long duration flooding this season if soil moisture across the region stays very wet.
Links to detailed reports
