Weather Service says flooding threat this spring is still "much above average"

The National Weather Service Office in La Crosse, in a report issued Thursday morning, says the potential for spring flooding remains above average for most of Northeast Iowa, Southeastern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

Its latest report states, "Not much has really changed in the flooding potential across the region since our last outlook issued in late January."  That's despite recent mild weather that has greatly reduced the snow pack across the region.

The Weather Service says soils are very wet and future rain or snow in March or April could lead to flooding along tributaries of the Mississippi River.

The report says the chances of flooding along the Mississippi River itself are "much above average."  runoff from snow melt and precipitation upstream could cause the flooding.

Along the Upper Iowa River, the chances of flooding in Decorah are near normal this spring.  However, the National Weather Service says flooding chances in Dorchester are 68 percent greater than normal.