That means warm days and cool nights that allow melting snow to drain gradually. When prematurely warm temperatures thaw frozen rivers, ice floes can develop, jamming riverbeds and sending water over the banks. N.D. North Dakota's third-largest city was inundated by the Red River of the North. Although the threat is far less than in 1997, Grand Forks is leaving little to chance. Temporary levees are in place.
Contractors are ready to bulldoze earth into the path of high water.
The waterway with the highest potential for serious flooding is the James River in South Dakota. The riverside town of Huron, for instance, has received more than 80 inches of snow this season, the most on record. However, the James River drains largely through lightly populated agricultural areas where flooding is unlikely to cause major damage to homes. In the Mississippi River basin, the potential for floods is above average, but flooding is not expected to be serious despite this month's heavy rains. Bob Stucky, a hydrologist in the weather service's Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center in Slidell, La., says high water can be a good thing.