The upper Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa face flooding of gargantuan levels this spring warns the U. S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

A huge snow pack exceeding the one in 2009 and containing liquid water in excess of 10 inches in certain locations is the basis for the dire prediction.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco minced no words while presenting the government's bleak spring outlook. "We are looking at potentially historic flooding in some parts of the country this spring", she warned along with stating that one-third of the country faced a higher than average risk of flooding.

El Nino, a warming in the Pacific Ocean, drove storms that left the soil saturated with record rains and snow, with the past three months seeing many areas in the eastern US experiencing twice the normal amount of rainfall.