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Weekend snow not expected to make flooding worse

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Spring 2009 flooding

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JANESVILLE — The calendar says spring has sprung.

But Mother Nature is going to show us otherwise.

Forecasters predict 5 to 6 inches of snow this weekend for Rock County.

"This will be the wet, heavy snow," said Bill Borghoff, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, Sullivan.

It might start with rain or light sleet Saturday afternoon and turn to all snow Saturday night. The heaviest snow will fall from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Borghoff said.

So how will this snowfall impact the already flooding Rock River?

"It shouldn't do much," Borghoff said. "If you melt all the snow that falls, it will give you a half-inch of liquid."

The river north of Rock County is beginning to level off, Borghoff said.

"We expect the same type of thing to happen in Newville the next couple days," he said.

Flood stage for Newville is 10 feet. The river will continue to rise to near 11.5 feet by Saturday night. After that, flooding will depend on future precipitation, Borghoff said.

"We are entering an active weather system every three or four days, so we think flooding will continue there for the next week or two and it will be prolonged," Borghoff said.

The Rock River at Indianford rose above its 15-foot flood stage Thursday and was at 15.07 feet this morning.

"The trend is for it to go above flood stage for the next day or two," Borghoff said.

A flood warning continues for the Rock River at Afton.

At 4:15 a.m. today, the river at Afton was at 10.85 feet. Flood stage is 9 feet. The river will continue rising at Afton to near 11 feet by Saturday morning with additional rises possible after that, according to the weather service.

At 11 feet, floodwaters affect Riverside Park in Janesville and River Road south of Janesville in addition to widespread lowland flooding in the Afton area, according to the weather service.

Snow this time of year is not unusual, Borghoff said.

"We average 2 or 3 inches of snow in April and the average last date of measurable snow is April 10. We have to get through the next month and a half before we're out of the woods," he said.

So if you're looking for a silver lining in these spring clouds, here it is: "The intensity (of this year's flooding) isn't going to be as bad as last year," Borghoff said.

And the forecast calls for partly sunny skies Sunday and Monday with highs in the 40s.