As a result of warmer temperatures and rain, the Water and Pollution Control Department of the City of Ames predicts the Squaw Creek and the Skunk River will pass flood stage this weekend. Although flooding is unusual this time of year, John Dunn, director of the Water and Pollution Control Department, said he does not anticipate any damage to buildings or roads.

The rainstorm that occurred Wednesday night pushed both the Squaw Creek and Skunk River past the flood stage.

“We were prepared for it and already anticipating that as we looked ahead,” Dunn said of predicting Wednesday’s rainfall.

The city has been using technology to monitor the potential for floods in concurrence with the amount of rain the National Weather Service predicts. The city uses the information to determine how much the river levels could climb. This weekend’s forecast predicts a half-inch of rain that will set both rivers past flood stage, but will not cause any damage. However, if it rains more than anticipated, things could change.

“The ground is completely saturated, and a lot of the roadside ditches are already holding water, so there’s not a whole lot of extra capacity anywhere in the river basin to hold any more water,” Dunn said.

The department may open the city’s emergency operations center as the public works department to begin sandbagging operations if there is a serious flood event. However, this weekend’s predicted rain will not likely reach that level of severity.

The area between South Duff Avenue, near the bowling alley, South Fifth Street, near the apartment complexes, and down farther south the bridge on South Duff Avenue is the area most likely to be affected by flooding, said Steve Schainker, city manager.