Idaho rivers running high

BOISE -- Hydrologists and water experts are worried as water levels continue to rise on many Idaho rivers.  If the weekend weather gets warm enough, those rivers could top flood stage and cause widespread flooding, especially in the northern region of the state.

At the Clearwater River, a baby duckling fights to stay afloat, but the water is moving too quickly.  The Clearwater measures at 16.25 feet – just below flood stage, which is 17 feet.

The Bureau of Reclamation says it expects the Clearwater to flood in some spots by Wednesday evening, and then start receding on Thursday.

Further south on the Main Fork of the Salmon River, the fear of flooding lessens.  The water levels are extreme and dangerous as huge amounts of debris barrels downstream.

The Main Salmon measures at nearly 31 feet - flood stage is 32 feet.  But before that happens, flows there are expected to drop by the weekend.

Ten miles north of New Meadows, the true face of spring runoff can be seen, as the Little Salmon River causes big concern.

The Little Salmon measures around 8.5 feet high right now – flood stage is 10 feet.

And even closer to home at the Boise River, the water is cold, and moving fast with heavy debris.

There is flooding along four sections of the Greenbelt, but that could increase.  The Boise River is 10.3 feet – flooding occurs at 10.4 feet. 

The Bureau of Reclamation says the Boise River should stay where it is right now and the flows will likely go down Wednesday or Thursday.

All of these flood levels will depend on the temperatures.

Officials say rivers rose quickly because it was so hot over last weekend.

If there is another heat wave, we could have a lot more flooding to deal with around the state.