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Winter moisture uneven across Midwest as spring river outlook takes shape

A weather expert says he’s monitoring water levels along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers heading into spring.

Iowa state climatologist Justin Glisan says some northern states have had adequate winter moisture to help boost stream flows.

“There is snowpack on the ground in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin which will feed into the Mississippi Basin. We do have snowpack in the Dakotas and parts of Montana that will feed into the Missouri Basin.”

He tells Brownfield other parts of the Midwest have been dry.

“With lower percentiles of soil moistures, along with this lack of precipitation, any precipitation that we get will soak in as we move into springtime. This is good for the flood outlook. The potential for major and minor flooding along the basins, we’re not seeing that right now.”

Glisan says if the lack of moisture continues through spring, “We could see lower river levels as we move into the growing season.”

But he says current models aren’t showing any strong signals of prolonged drought.

Justin Glisan Audio Interview: