The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expecting one of its biggest spring runoff seasons on record.
Complicating matters, an ice jam is forming along the Elkhorn River just north of Scribner. That prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood advisory Monday.
John Remus with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says ice jams are not all that uncommon this time of year.
"I wouldn't say you see them every year it really depends on how cold it gets, whether it warms up fast or slow, how much snow you have . . . runoff there,” Remus told 6 News.
He says runoff is exactly what the Corps is preparing for. "We are predicting a very large runoff season in 2020,” Remus says.
The prediction is for about half the amount of runoff the Missouri River Basin saw in 2019, but Remus warns "If realized it would be a top 10 runoff season over 122 years of record, so it is still a significant runoff if it materializes.”
One of the major factors playing into the prediction is the wet ground. "That's one of the reasons for the very large runoff forecast is we do have very wet soils throughout the basin, particularly in the upper basin."
As for the threat the ice jam is posing, it's set to run out Tuesday night with no significant flooding yet to be reported.
(Photo: 6 News)