While many officials are still cautiously optimistic, it appears as though the North Platte River has peaked in Nebraska.
Record snow pack this year in the Rocky Mountains has caused reservoirs on the North Platte River to fill up in many cases. The snow, however, melted at a slower pace than predicted, which has allowed the reservoir system on the river to control a lot of the increased flows. Lowland flooding in parts of Nebraska, especially around the city of North Platte, has been occurring since spring.
Now, the National Weather Service in North Platte is reporting the river is only one tenth of a foot above flood stage near the village of Lewellen, and six tenths of a foot above flood stage near the city of North Platte, and they’re predicting the river will continue dropping in the coming days. Officials also say that farmland irrigation will also help reduce levels and flows as the state’s irrigation districts have been used to disperse water and further minimize flooding.
Meanwhile, Nebraska’s largest reservoir is up slightly from a week ago, but still below normal capacity for this time of year. Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, the owners and operators of Lake McConaughy, report the lake is sitting at 99.3% capacity, four tenths of a foot below normal capacity. Inflows are sitting around 6,400 cubic feet per second, with total outflows around 5,500 cubic feet per second.
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