Weather Talk: No flooding in spring or June rare in past 19 years

For the first time since 2006, there has been neither spring nor June flooding on the Red River.

Over the long record we have of river levels, this is not at all unusual. However, within the context of the past 19 wet years, the complete lack of flooding is quite a rarity.

The Red has remained below flood stage because of a very dry fall and winter. And while spring rainfall has been closer to average, the timing and placement of each of the rainfalls has not been enough to cause any significant surges on the river.

But now it is June, and the forecast calls for regular scattered thunderstorms. Although timing and placement of the rains remains key to river levels, odds favor the river reaching at least flood stage at some point in the next few weeks.

While the past 10 months have been generally dry, the deep moisture profile of the region is still wet. Most lakes, sloughs and reservoirs are lower than they have been in several years, but still higher than most years prior to 1993. It seems dry, but it is still quite wet overall.

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