As yet another Colorado low moves through the province Thursday night into Friday, more rain and very strong southerly winds has the Manitoba Hydrologic Forecast Centre keeping a close eye on conditions. Generally, 20 to 40mm of rainfall is expected Thursday night to early Friday morning with southerly wind gusts Friday in the Red River Valley reaching 70 km/h or more.

The strong winds tomorrow could also cause water levels in flooded areas of the Red River Valley to rise by up to a foot in some areas. Wave action could also add to the temporary increase in water levels and could result in temporary overtopping of roads.

An overland flood warning continues for a portion of southwest Manitoba and the southeast corner of the province, with the remainder of southern Manitoba under an overland flood watch.

The Red River is declining from Emerson to St. Jean, and is near crest at Morris. However, water levels could rise again due to the forecasted precipitation system over the coming days, depending on the amount and intensity of rain.

 Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure is reporting that the river there reached a peak of 782.15 feet, which is at least eight inches lower than in 2009.

The province is reporting the following changes along the Red River since Wednesday:

dropped three inches at Emerson to 789.95 feet
dropped one inch at Letellier to 784.63 feet
dropped less than one inch at St. Jean to 782.13 feet
risen less than one inch at Morris to 780.63 feet
risen one inch at Ste. Agathe to 772.11 feet
risen less than one inch at St. Adolphe to 767.88 feet

Flood warnings remain in place for most parts of the Red River north of Emerson (except Winnipeg), Dauphin Lake, the Pembina, Morris and Little Morris rivers, the Shannon and Netley creeks.

As of Thursday afternoon, 28 states of local emergency have been declared across the province.