Wyoming’s snowpack has risen to the point where heavy flooding is more and more likely.
State Hydrologist Lee Hackleman says snowpack has climbed from 115-percent of median to 176-percent. Hackleman says the weather has him nervous.
"Well if it stays cool and rainy like this long enough, we know that when it warms up it’s gonna warm up fast and implications are that we will have some flooding then. We’d be better off if it was a little warmer now and we’d have a little better start on the melt out."
Hackleman is concerned about a number of rivers in western and central Wyoming, but he said the Wind River could set some records and will likely see extensive flooding. He said local officials and the Red Cross have been planning ahead.
“If they are prepared well enough and it comes off fairly orderly it might not be too bad, I think there’s going to be higher flows than they’ve ever had before.”
The Wind River is at 304 percent of median while the Sweetwater Basin is at 353 percent of median.
