The Province of Manitoba says the spring flood risk still depends on the kind of weather we see during the remainder of winter. That being said, the risk of significant flooding remains low for most areas of the province.

"As Manitobans know, weather conditions in our province can change on a moment’s notice. Our government will remain ready to act if heavy winter precipitation, a fast snow melt or heavy spring rainfall occurs," said Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler.  "For now though, we have reason to be cautiously optimistic about what’s ahead for most parts of Manitoba this spring."

A release issued by Schuler's office noted that Manitoba Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre is continuing to monitor the impacts of weather conditions across the province.

The Province also says the 2017 fall conditions report issued early in December indicated soil moisture levels before freeze-up were normal to drier than normal in most of Manitoba. It added that current winter precipitation in most areas of Manitoba remains average to below average, with some areas indicating well below average precipitation records.

There is however the risk that possible ice jams could affect the flood risk along some streams. The Province says current river ice assessments indicate above-normal thickness for this time of the year. This is a result of below-normal temperatures this winter and the lack of sufficient snow cover to insulate the river ice from the cold air temperatures.

The Province of Manitoba will issue it's first detailed flood outlook for 2018 in late February.