JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NWS) – Warm weather through Tuesday will restart snowmelt throughout the James River basin this week before it once again gets tempered by cooler temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday.

A gradual warm-up late in the week will continue to favor a gentle melt. Overall, what was a fairly formidable snowpack in early February has been diminished considerably by very favorable melt conditions and dry air. Satellite imagery and webcams suggest recent weather patterns have already removed a fair amount of the water equivalent via evaporation and sublimation.

So while the potential for significant runoff remains, the threat of damaging high water this week along either the James River or Pipestem Creek has lessened even though substantial rises in the areas streams are likely late this week and into early April.