SOUTHERN OREGON — Quick rises and potential flooding along streams and creeks and ponding of low-lying and poorly drained urban streams are possible in parts of southern Oregon through Saturday.
As the weather transitions into the rainier months Oregonians are familiar with, the Oregon Department of Transportation has tips for how to drive safely.
The National Weather Service issued a Flood Potential Outlook for flash flooding on area burn scars in Douglas and some nearby counties for early next week.
kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
A survey of the Souris River basin, notably the lack of snowpack, confirms what the latest Flood Potential Outlook for the Souris contains – “overall flood risk within the Souris River Basin is at well below normal risk levels.”
The National Weather Service issued the outlook Thursday. It covers the period of Feb. 15 through May 16 and is virtually unchanged from the January outlook. The biggest reason why is the continued lack of snow cover that can melt and produce runoff.
“Snowpack generally ranges from near zero moisture across large areas in the western part of the state,” reads the outlook. It adds the following in reference to the Souris River Basin.
kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
Kim Fundingsland/MDN
Water levels in the Souris River are so low that it can be jumped across in many places. This photograph was taken near the Colton Avenue bridge in Burlington.
It has been nearly 10 years since the historic flood of 2011 tore through the Souris River Valley and ripped through Minot, leaving scars still visible today. Now the Souris River sits quiet, with so little water in it that it can be walked across on dirt, sand bars or rock in many places.
The entire drainage, from Sakakatchewan, Canada to Minot and points downstream, has so little snow cover that measuring the moisture content in it is an exercise in futility. Throughout the Souris River basin the snow water equivalency ranges from zero to a scant quarter-inch.