Flooding an unlikely concern this spring

ALBANY -- The scant snowfall this winter that thrilled commuters and discouraged skiers will continue to affect Northeast waterways this spring as the feeble snowpack melts away.

Less runoff means less of a chance of rivers and streams swelling their banks -- which is good news for the flood-weary region but bad news for rafting companies that depend on rushing waters. It also could affect reservoir levels.

This the fourth-warmest winter on record for the 48 contiguous states as a whole. It also has been drier than normal in the West and Southeast, though wetter conditions prevailed in the central and southern plains and some parts of the Ohio Valley.

The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University reports below-average snow cover this winter at tracking stations from Maine to West Virginia.

Climate center climatologist Jessica Rennells said there is little to no snow on the ground in the Northeast to slowly melt into the spring soil. Torrential rains could still get the waters raging, but the mild winter decreases the chances of a replay of last spring when heavy snow melt plus rain caused flooding around the region.

"If you're a town downstream that gets these giant ice dams floods like happen in upstate New York, Vermont, all the hilly places, then it reduces the risks of the bigger floods," said Curt Stager, a professor of natural sciences at Paul Smiths College.

The low snow conditions also are being welcomed by the managers of the multi-year dredging of the upper-Hudson. The PCB cleanup started slowly last spring due to severe flooding. But Gary Klawinski, the Environmental Protection Agency's dredging project manager, said they hope to get a faster start this year since there's not a big snow pack in the Adirondacks.

Melting snow lingering in the Adirondacks also gives spring white-water rafting its turbo-boost, so guides are not happy with conditions this year.

Wayne Failing of Lake Placid-based Middle Earth Expeditions doesn't expect the Hudson River gorge to hit intense class five rapids in April absent some heavy rains.

"The snow pack in the mountains is a big part of what makes April class five, and right now I'm raking my lawn," Failing said.

Reservoirs often get a boost in the spring from runoff, though U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist Glenn A. Hodgkins cautioned there are other factors at play when it comes to reservoir levels.