Space Industry and Business News  
US weather service warns of major floods in midwest

by Staff Writers
Chicago (AFP) March 19, 2009
Near record spring floods could begin to swamp large parts of the US midwest as early as next week, the National Weather Service warned Thursday.

The Red River valley -- the scene of devastating floods in 1997 -- has experienced above average snowfall over the winter and the heavy runoff onto still-frozen ground poses "an imminent serious flood threat," the weather service said.

"We are looking at a situation with all the ingredients for near record flooding in the upper Midwest," said Jack Hayes, director of the National Weather Service.

"Sudden snowpack melts due to warm temperatures or a heavy rain could further complicate the flooding on the northern plains."

Forecasters expect flooding to begin next week and warned that the Red River in North Dakota could see a crest among the top five highest on record.

Widespread over-land flooding is expected due to the flat terrain and frozen drainage networks in the Red River Basin.

The threat is so great that the weather service created a new category -- high risk -- to distinguish it from the existing 'above average' category for flood potential.

Officials in North Dakota and neighboring Minnesota have already begun preparations for the floods.

Recent flooding in Illinois and Ohio due to heavy rain has begun to recede, but the weather service said the saturated ground is could flood again should it rain.

The weather service's spring outlook also warned of a worsening drought in Florida but said much-needed rain has helped relieve intense drought conditions in Texas, Oklahoma and California.

Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Weather Satellites Continue To Face Cost Overruns And Delays
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 27, 2009
The Subcommittee on Energy and Environment heard from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the status of the new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) series of weather satellites being developed by NOAA.







The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement