By Illinois Radio Network

LINCOLN – All of Illinois’ recent rain is apparently enough to have forecasters rethinking the state’s 2018 Spring Flood Outlook.

The National Weather Service’s report on spring flooding had said that this shouldn’t be a severe flood season.

Then it rained for the better part of a week.

“Sometimes you get these situations, where you put out the Outlook and then a a week later, or in this case four or five days later, the weather conditions change quickly,” NWS Meteorologist Jessica Brooks said. “Then some of that information becomes outdated.”

The report said that large parts of western, central and southern Illinois were still looking at drought conditions.

And Brooks said, there hasn’t been too much rain or snow this winter, so there’s not a lot of water waiting to come down the Mississippi River.

“Regarding the Mississippi, there is snow up north. But they have had a below normal season in terms of snow fall,” Brooks said. “If we were to get all of that snow to melt tomorrow, and come down the Mississippi River, we can expect the river to rise. The river would rise based on just the snow that is up there. But, again, that’s normal.”

Brooks said the bigger picture in the report – that this shouldn’t be a bad flood – season is still relevant.

The National Weather Service will update the report later this week.