After the snowstorms come--the floods?

The National Weather Service has issued its first spring flooding predictions of the year and forecasters say there will be a higher-than-normal risk of flooding this spring.

The Upper Iowa River is forecast to have a 72 percent chance of minor flooding and a 17 percent chance of major flooding--at Dorchester.  The flood forecast says at this point there is less than a 5 percent chance of minor or major flooding on the Upper Iowa River at Decorah.

People living along the Turkey River could have an eventful spring, however.  The National Weather Service says there's a 95 percent chance of minor flooding this spring at Elkader, with a 27 percent chance of major flooding.

Ground frost is deeper than usual, in some spots in NE Iowa as much as two feet deep.  Such conditions make the soil hold more water, one of the factors increasing the risk of flooding this spring.

Another factor impacting the risk of flooding is the prediction that river levels on the Mississippi will be higher than normal this spring.  The National Weather Service says there's a 60 percent chance of minor flooding and a 20 percent chance of major flooding at Lansing in Allamakee County.  Flooding on the Mississippi would also possibly back up water on tributary rivers, increasing the chances of flooding elsewhere in NE Iowa.