In a forecast released today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced it predicts widespread flooding in much of the U.S. this spring. NOAA says major to moderate flooding is likely in 23 states from the Northern Plains south to the Gulf Coast, with the most significant flood potential in parts of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. However, the flooding is not expected to be as severe or as prolonged overall as it was in 2019. NOAA forecasts above-average temperatures across the country this spring, as well as above-average precipitation in the central and eastern U.S. Significant rainfall events could trigger flood conditions on top of already saturated soils. “Nearly every day, dangerous flooding occurs somewhere in the United States and widespread flooding is in the forecast for many states in the months ahead,” said Ed Clark, director of NOAA’s National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Meanwhile, drought conditions are expected to persist and expand throughout California in the months ahead, and drought is likely to persist in the central and southern Rocky Mountains, the southern Plains, southern Texas, and portions of the Pacific Northwest. Read the forecast at NOAA.