NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – It’s now officially spring and warmer temperatures and melting snow can lead to spring flooding.
Looking at the Spring Flood Potential from the Northeast River Forecast Center and it shows most of New England is normal or below normal even along the Connecticut River. Right now there is snow on the ground, especially in the Berkshires and the hills, and some spots have over a foot of snow on the ground in northern Berkshire and Franklin Counties.
There is also still a lot of snow on the ground in northern New England in the White and Green Mountains. If the snow melts more gradually the river flooding won’t be too much of an issue, but if we get a big warm-up or some heavy rain we’ll have to keep an eye on the rivers and flooding could become a problem over the next few weeks.
And, unfortunately, the first official weekend of spring brought grey skies, cold weather, and a wintry mix to western Massachusetts on Saturday. People in Hampshire county are saying they are ready for the nice weather and sunny skies.
“Well, I’m hoping the temperature is gonna go up a little bit so we just get rain. I’m sick of winter and I think most people are sick of winter,” expressed David Fenton of Northampton.
At the beginning of February, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter, and right now it looks like he was right. After weeks of a warmer-than-average winter and little-to-no snow, the region was hit with a few snowfalls bringing up the average for the year.