Midwest flooding likely to continue through remainder of spring
In mid-March, a massive storm, which was labeled as a “bomb cyclone,” developed and brought very heavy rainfall and blizzard conditions to the Midwest. Parts of Colorado, Wyoming and western Nebraska were snowbound.
The recent bomb cyclone — along with other storms in the central U.S., plus melting snows from the north — has led to massive flooding in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and especially Nebraska.
The high waters as resulted in levees being breached along the Missouri River. The huge floods have killed 3 people and caused over $3 billion in damages. Over $1 billion of the damages were in Nebraska alone. The flooding has destroyed more than 2,000 homes and close to 350 businesses in that state.
On March 21, President Trump declared that a major disaster exists in Nebraska. He ordered federal aid to the region. The state has estimated livestock losses around $400 million, with about $440 million in crop destruction.
The flooding rivers and streams are expected to remain high through at least the rest of the spring season. As a result of the melting snow and torrential rains to the north, moderate flooding is expected along the Mississippi River as well, all the way down to the Gulf Coast. Additional states like Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and the eastern portions of Arkansas and Louisiana are also likely to have moderate flood waters over the next several months.
In Iowa, according to an article by Yahoo News, the floods have resulted an estimated $1.6 million in damage. Across the Great Plains and Corn Belt states, hundreds of livestock have either drowned or been stranded. Stored grain in storage bins has been ruined as many bins have been submerged.
It was recently reported that Colorado recorded its lowest barometric pressure from the massive system, making it the strongest storm in the state’s history. In Lamar, the central pressure dropped down to 28.65 inches on March 13. At the Denver International Airport, the sea-level pressure dropped to 28.91 inches.
An article by CNN says that the farming community from Nebraska and Iowa has been devastated by the recent flooding. It’s believed that a large percentage of farmers may not recover from the tragedy. It’s quite possible that thousands of farmers will not be able to plant this year and others are now facing financial ruin due to the flooding situation. The massive floods have put millions of acres of valuable farmland underwater. Observers say that millions of bushels of wheat, corn and soybeans have been destroyed along with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of livestock across the region.
Nebraska’s Governor Pete Ricketts says this is the “most widespread disaster we have had in our state’s history.” Many fields across the Midwest are underwater and many are wondering if they will be able to get back into the fields this year. For many, it won’t be financially possible. Many farmers in these same areas were still trying to recover from the so-called “500-Year Floods” back in 2011. Most officials believe this round of flooding is worse than the 2011 event.
According to National Weather Service deputy director Mary Erickson, “the flooding this year could be even worse than the historic floods we saw in 1993 and 2011.” Many believe that food prices are likely to go higher later this year. Some are calling these floods the “worst agricultural disaster in modern American history, and it is going to get a whole lot worse.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says to expect more major flooding, especially along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers for at least several more months. Cliff and I see more storms moving across these flooded areas for at least the next several weeks, maybe longer.
In terms of our local weather, we’re fortunate here in North Idaho that our flooding potential has been reduced due to the cold temperatures and night. Although readings during the day have been in the 50s and 60s, rapid snowmelt has been held back and not posed a major threat. Flood forecasters are also predicting no major floods in North Idaho over the next several months. Our big floods come from conditions when we get mild weather, strong southerly winds and rain.
However, we are going into a wetter weather pattern in early-to-mid April that will bring some rain and mild conditions during the day, so we could still see some minor flooding. There are also a few Pacific storms that may have enough cold air to bring some snow during the overnight hours.
Through the end of March, Cliff has measured a whopping 96.4 inches of snow for the 2018-19 season. Our normal is 69.8 inches. If we get the cold air and moisture at night, there’s a good chance that we could challenge 100 inches of snow in Coeur d’Alene for the 5th time in 11 years.
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Contact Randy Mann at randy@longrangeweather.com