Flash flooding effected areas between Lexington and Kearney in July 2019, (Brian Neben, Courtesy)
HASTINGS — The 2025 spring flood risk is below normal to near normal across south central Nebraska due to continued drought conditions and lower seasonal precipitation amounts.
The National Weather Service – Hastings stated that the local area snowpack is fairly minimal, generally 2-5 inches across the region with 0.10 – 0.40 inches of liquid content.
Soil moisture is overall drier than normal and should be capable of absorbing plenty of moisture once the ground thaws, which limits spring flood potential, per NWS Hastings. Current streamflow on most of our rivers is averaging near normal to below normal.
“Mountain snowpack in the North/South Platte River Basins is near to below normal with plenty of storage space in some reservoirs upstream of our area such as Lake McConaughy,” per NWS Hastings.
The long-range precipitation outlook, March through May, indicates equal chances with a slight lean toward below normal amount.
In the shorter term, there is a possible ice jam risk for late February into early March. The upcoming intrusion of Arctic air over the next seven to 10 days will create more ice and a late warm up in the month will cause melting and promote ice movement.
NWS Hastings always states that isolated flooding is still possible even in dry years and when the overall flood risk is low.
The ongoing drought conditions, mainly moderate drought, D1, are in place across central Nebraska and has changed very little over the winter. The soil should be able to absorb a high amount of moisture once the spring thaw comes.
