Prince Albert had a lot of snow this winter, and it stuck around thanks to cold temperatures. But does that mean a crazy flooding season ahead? (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Spring Flood Risk

Snowy winter doesn’t necessarily mean spring flooding

Mar 15, 2022 | 4:00 PM

Not only has Prince Albert had more snow this winter than in many others, the colder temperatures have also seen that snow stick around for longer and accumulate more.

So, will the increase in snow lead to flooding as things start to melt down?

According to the Water Security Agency, Prince Albert isn’t at huge risk of flooding this spring. That’s in spite of the fact that there was a lot more snow than on average this winter.

“The Prince Albert area, that central band across the middle of the province, has seen a pretty healthy amount of snow,” said Sean Osmar, communications manager with the Water Security Agency. “We’re above normal or well above normal depending on where you are.”

A number of factors play into the relatively low flood risk. One of those factors goes back to last summer, an extremely dry one for the Prince Albert area and for Saskatchewan in general.

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“One of the things we saw going into the winter freeze up was conditions were very dry even up to Prince Albert,” Osmar said. “That will help mitigate any potential risk. Conditions change and we might still see more rainfall or snowfall over the next few weeks which will change that, but as it stands now, not expecting widespread flooding.”

Another factor in the lessened flood risk is the slower speed of the meltdown. With the temperatures bouncing back and forth over the zero-degree mark throughout the next week, people can expect a more gradual melt to all this snow.

“There’s more to it, but broadly speaking if we get a slower melt with nice warm days and then it cools again in the evening, that will slow the melting,” said Osmar. “That will tend to lead to water seeping into moisture rather than running off into rivers and streams and lakes where it accumulates much quicker and could lead to possible flooding.”

A slow meltdown of lots of snow is good news for local farmers, who also had to deal with an unusually dry summer last year. Not only do increased snow levels bode well, but the spring forecast has some potentially good news.

“As it stands, conditions do look good,” said Osmar. “The long-term forecast from what we can see does seem to indicate that cooler spring with potential for more rain still to come. That will be very good to help recharge the soil moisture levels and recharge and dugouts that producers may have.”

Osmar added they’ll have another water runoff forecast in early April that will paint a clearer picture, but as things stand right now it doesn’t look like there’s much of a risk of widespread flooding.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP