CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Cooler temperatures on Saturday slowed the flow of water cascading from the melting mountain snowpack in central and western Wyoming, but officials warned residents to remain alert for persistent high water into the new week.
“It was cool enough last night that the snowmelt on the mountain had slowed down,” Fremont County Emergency Management Coordinator Kathi Metzler said. “So that’s helping us a little bit.”
As a precaution, the county on Saturday maintained its advisory that residents remain ready to evacuate, she said. The advisory was likely to be lifted Sunday because of predictions that the river would slowly recede nearly a foot by Monday morning.
The Wind River continued to flow at record highs Saturday, exceeding 12 feet (4 meters) at Riverton for the second straight day, flooding mostly rural areas along its route.
Providing an example of the amount of water flowing into Wyoming streams and rivers over the past week, the National Weather Service estimated that more than 7 inches (18 centimeters) of water had poured off one mountain pass in Fremont County since Wednesday morning.
So far, Metzler said she has not received any reports of homes or businesses being damaged by flooding.
While rivers in Fremont County and elsewhere were expected to recede some Sunday, the National Weather Service predicted rain late Monday and early Tuesday that could raise the rivers again.
A 10-mile (16-kilometer) stretch of U.S. Highway 26, which runs along the Wind River in Fremont County, remained closed Saturday west of Riverton because of water running over the pavement.
Elsewhere, the Green River in southwest Wyoming and the South Fork of the Shoshone in Park County continued to cause flooding in rural, low-lying areas. But flood warnings for the Greybull River in Park and Big Horn counties were lifted Saturday as water levels eased down.
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