Province issues flood warning for St. Jean Baptiste, Morris areas

The province of Manitoba has issued a flood warning for Morris and St. Jean Baptiste, and areas surrounding those communities, dueto an expected rise in river levels.

A weather system is forecast to bring up to 30 millimetres of precipitation, with a mix of rain and snow,in most parts of southern Manitoba, the province'sHydrologic Forecast Centre said in a Tuesday news release.

Thatprecipitation, together with the gradual snowmelt,could raise river levels above their capacities at some locations within the Red River Valley, the province says. Water levels had already exceeded bank-full capacities at St. Jean Baptiste about 70 kilometres south of Winnipeg as of Tuesday morning.

In addition to the warning for the Morris and St. Jean Baptiste areas, the province has also issued afloodwatchfor the Red River from Emerson to St. Jean, and from Morris to the Red River Floodway inlet, just south of Winnipeg.River levels continue to rise in those areas, the province says.

Warnings areissued when riverlevels exceed, or are expected to exceed,floodstage within the next 24 hours. Awatch is issued whenlevels are approaching and likely to reachfloodstage, but not likely within the next 24 hours, the province says.

Water levels are expected to peak between Emerson and the Red River Floodway inlet between April 8 and 15.

According to the U.S. National Weather Service's hydrological page, the Red River crested at the Canada-U.S. border early Tuesday morning.

The Red River is expected to peak at the floodway inlet between 45,000 and 57,000 cubic feet per second south of Winnipeg.

That's roughly one-third the volume of the Flood of the Century in 1997, when the river peaked at 138,000 cubic feet per second south of the floodway.

In order for the floodway to operate,river ice needs to be broken up and cleared upstream of the floodway inlet. The ice is likely to clear by the end of the week, the province says, which could allow for the operation of the floodway if needed.

The province sayscrews have been deployed in a number of communities in the Red River Valley to monitor basin conditions and assess potential dike closures.

Gates at the Portage Diversion will be opened briefly Tuesday evening to help clear the ice from the diversion channel, the province's news release says.