Thanks to a stretch of warm weather most of the snow and ice have disappeared around town with the exception of some lingering chunks of ice on the Bow River.

As more ice breaks up on the Bow, the water levels are increasing at a rapid pace, raising the question of whether there's a greater flood risk to our area this year.

Fire Inspector Jeff Avery with Cochrane Fire Services says that he doesn't believe there's cause for immediate concern. "Right now I would say no, we're in our normal runoff season," says Avery. "It all depends on our weather and the amount of moisture that we get."

Avery says that while the water levels may appear to be high right now, they are actually normal for this time of year.

In terms of snowpack in the mountains, he says it's still too early to predict whether runoff from the Rockies will increase the risk of flooding in the Cochrane area.

"The major runoff still isn't for another month or so in the mountains," says Avery. "The damn is monitored really, really close so they'll let out water as needed."

This past winter Cochrane Fire Services issued several reminders to the public about the hazards of venturing out onto river ice. 

Avery says that while the remaining ice on the Bow may look stable, river ice is always unpredictable.

"With the melt going on right now it's super unstable," says Avery. "There's still a fair bit of ice out there and still dangerous so we ask you to continually stay off it."

Cochrane is expecting more moisture in the forecast this week, in the form of rain and yes, even more snow.