WINNIPEG 鈥� Manitoba flood officials say the prolonged cold spring is making flooding more likely for a few homes in Winnipeg.
The Red River is cresting downstream from the capital, but ice hasn鈥檛 melted enough to open the floodway which diverts water around the city.
Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton said that heightens the risk of ice jams in south Winnipeg. A handful of low-lying homes may need ring dikes and other flood protection.
鈥淲e鈥檙e able to operate the floodway in open water scenarios,鈥� he said at a flood briefing Wednesday.
鈥淭he ice on the Red River is, in many cases, three feet-plus thick still. I can testify, coming from northern Manitoba, that鈥檚 probably the kind of thickness you would expect to see on our winter roads into remote, northern communities.鈥�
The weather in Manitoba has been so cold 鈥� some 15 degrees colder than normal 鈥� that spring hasn鈥檛 even arrived in many parts of the province.
Steve Topping, the province鈥檚 executive director of hydrologic forecasting and water management, said the spring thaw has been put on hold in many regions.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a deep freeze and the melt has basically abated. Run-off is declining on all our tributaries except for the Red River and the Assiniboine River,鈥� he said.
鈥淚n many parts of the province, the run-off hasn鈥檛 even started. The snow pack still exists.鈥�
Icebreakers have been out to reduce the chance of ice jams and are ready to be deployed again in Winnipeg if necessary, Topping said.
But other than the prolonged cold, Ashton said officials aren鈥檛 expecting any significant precipitation to exacerbate flooding.
The general flood risk is relatively low and officials aren鈥檛 expecting to close Highway 75 this year 鈥� a key corridor to the United States which is frequently closed by flood waters.
鈥淭he cold weather, it鈥檚 real, it鈥檚 having an impact right here in the city of Winnipeg,鈥� Ashton said.
鈥淭he good news is warmer weather is on the way and we鈥檙e still looking at very localized flood situations in the province. We鈥檙e not looking at the generalized flood scenarios we saw either in 2009 or 2011.鈥�
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