The first hydrologic outlook of 2013 has been issued by NWS Des Moines and is below. A full statement can be found at their website: www.crh.noaa.gov/dmx.

HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
721 AM CST THU FEB 21 2013

…SPRING FLOOD AND WATER RESOURCES OUTLOOK…

THIS FLOOD OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NWS DES MOINES SERVICE AREA. IT
COVERS THE TIME PERIOD FOR EARLY FEBRUARY THROUGH LATE MAY 2013.
IT INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING RIVERS AND THEIR TRIBUTARIES IN NORTH
CENTRAL…CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA…IOWA…CEDAR…SKUNK…
DES MOINES…RACCOON…NISHNABOTNA…102…THOMPSON AND CHARITON RIVERS

…FLOOD OUTLOOK HIGHLIGHTS…

* THE RISK OF FLOODING FROM LATE WINTER INTO SPRING IS PRESENTLY
BELOW NORMAL AT ALL LOCATIONS.

* THE COMBINATION OF FROZEN GROUND AS WELL AS ICE IN THE UPPER-
MOST LAYER OF THE GROUND HAS PRODUCED A CONCRETE FROST SITUATION
IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA…ESPECIALLY NORTH OF U.S. HIGHWAY 20. AS
A RESULT…RUNOFF FROM SNOW MELT AND RAINFALL WILL BE HIGHER
THAN NORMAL UNTIL THE GROUND THAWS.

* A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF THE WINTER SEASON REMAINS. THUS…IT
IS IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE MONITORING WEATHER AND RIVER
CONDITIONS…AS WELL AS FUTURE OUTLOOKS…FOR ANY CHANGES TO THE
FLOOD THREAT. ANY FUTURE PRECIPITATION…AS WELL AS CHANGES TO
RIVER OR OTHER WEATHER CONDITIONS…MAY INCREASE OR DECREASE THE
RISK OF FLOODING.

* THE NEXT…UPDATED OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED ON THURSDAY…MARCH 7
2013.YOU MAY ALSO REFER TO OUR WEB SITE FOR MORE INFORMATION
AT… HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DESMOINES .

…CURRENT CONDITIONS AS OF FEBRUARY 20 2013…

.SNOW PACK…THE SNOW PACK IS BELOW NORMAL…EXCEPT FOR THE
UPPER-MOST PORTION OF THE DES MOINES RIVER BASIN IN SOUTHWEST
MINNESOTA WHERE IT IS ABOVE NORMAL.

PLEASE NOTE…AS OF TODAY /FEBRUARY 21ST/…A WINTER STORM WILL
BRING MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TO OUR REGION.
THUS…THE SNOW PACK IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE AS COMPARED TO ITS
ASSESSMENT AS OF FEBRUARY 20TH.

.STREAM FLOWS…STREAM FLOWS ARE AVERAGING NEAR TO BELOW NORMAL.

.SOIL MOISTURE…SOIL MOISTURE IS BELOW NORMAL ACROSS THE
NORTHWEST TWO THIRDS OF IOWA. IT IS NEAR TO BELOW NORMAL ACROSS
THE SOUTHEAST THIRD OF THE STATE.

.DROUGHT CONDITIONS…DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO AFFECT ALL
OF IOWA. THE WORST CONDITIONS ARE IN THE NORTHWEST HALF OF IOWA
WHERE EXTREME OR EXCEPTIONAL /D3 OR D4/ CONDITIONS EXIST. ACROSS
THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF THE STATE…MODERATE OR SEVERE /D2 OR D3/
CONDITIONS EXIST.

.FROST DEPTH…FROST DEPTHS WERE IN THE 10 TO 15 INCH RANGE.

$$

ZOGG