Flood threat eases on Missouri River in North Dakota

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The threat of flooding on the Missouri River has eased in the Bismarck-Mandan area of North Dakota, forecasters said Sunday.

The National Weather Service on Sunday canceled a flood advisory for western Burleigh County and northeastern Morton County. The advisory was prompted last week by an ice jam on the Missouri River north of the Grant Marsh bridge.

But the weather service says the river has receded in the Bismarck-Mandan area and continues a “steady downward trend,” The Bismarck Tribune reported.

The flooding affected some homes on both sides of the river but was not widespread. Both counties opened self-fill sandbag sites for affected residents, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reduced flows from Garrison Dam.

While the threat of flooding has eased, forecasters say a second round of flooding is possible. Colder weather forecast later this week into next week could bring another cycle of ice-up, and with it “unpredictable rapid fluctuations” and high water, the weather service said.