A wetter spring may be in store for Iowa in the upcoming season, according to the National Climate Prediction Center. The branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows increased chances for higher than normal rainfall in March, April, and May. Iowa’s State Climatologist Justin Glisan says that’s in part because a dominant La Nina pattern in the Pacific has lifted — which could not only mean one of the wetter seasons in recent years, but significant drought improvement for many.

That heavier rainfall potential may not translate to significant flooding — at least across central Iowa. The National Weather Service Spring Flood Outlook indicated a near-normal year, due in part to low streamflows and snowpack in central Iowa prior to last week’s snowstorm, which has already mostly melted away.