Manitoba Water Stewardship reports the weekend precipitation experienced in the Manitoba portion of the Red River Valley will have little impact on median or average scenario outlined in the March flood outlook of a slightly higher than a 2009 magnitude flood.
At this time, the American portion of the Red River basin is just above flood stage. The Manitoba portion of the Red River is up 0.6 to 0.9 metres (two to three feet) since yesterday but the Red River is still below flood stage at most locations. The Red River is at 4.3 m (14 ft.) at the downtown Winnipeg James Avenue gauge.
Currently, the crest in Fargo is expected between April 14 and April 21, in Emerson, between April 29 and May 5. It takes approximately two weeks for the crest to travel from Fargo to Emerson and another five to seven days to reach Winnipeg from Emerson.
Temperatures are expected to climb above normal in the next four to five days.
The short-term impacts of the weekend precipitation included a minor ice jam south of the St. Andrews dam briefly causing minor over-bank flooding in the Captain Kennedy Road area.
The Red River may begin to naturally flow into the floodway channel later this week. Floodway operations will depend on the breakup of river ice.
