Melting snow has already created some substantial rises in streams
west of the Missouri River. Flood warnings are already in place for
minor flooding along the Cannonball River at Breien and the Missouri
River west of Williston. As much above normal temperatures are
expected to persist through the week, other rivers and streams such
as the Knife, Little Missouri, Heart, Apple Creek and Beaver Creek
near Linton are likely to receive sufficient runoff to raise water
levels and lift the ice off the shoreline. While most of this area
does not have enough water in the snowpack to produce widespread
significant flooding, the risk of icejam related high water will be
at its peak this week in these waterways if enough flow can be
generated to mobilize the ice cover.

In the northwest quarter of the state, the Yellowstone river near
Montana is also expected to see its water levels continue to rise
and a correspondingly higher risk of its ice cover breaking up.

East of Bismarck, the snowpack will prove to be a little more
resilient, but runoff should be in full swing by late in the work
week. In particular, the Prairie Pothole areas will see small
wetlands and lakes begin to rise towards the end of the week, and
this will threaten some low-lying roads with inundation and
closures. Also, ice anglers should be wary of rapidly deteriorating
shorelines from which they access local fisheries. The James River
and Pipestem creek watersheds should also be prepared for runoff starting to cause rising water levels by week`s end even though that area should have the most resilient of snowcover.

Lastly, the Souris River Basin should also experience melting
conditions, but the majority of the contributing area north and west
of Minot has very little snow cover. Little risk of flooding is
expected along the Souris upstream of Minot. While enough snow is
found over in the Towner, Willow City and Westhope region to create
a fair amount of runoff, that may not occur this week.