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Major flooding is expected along parts of the Naches River, according to the National Weather Service, which issued a dramatic reassessment Thursday of the effect near-record high temperatures will have on mountain snows.

Just what lies ahead for communities near the Naches is unclear.

Steve Smith, assistant chief for the fire district that serves the area, said he told his fellow firefighters to keep their heads up.

"We may have to do sandbagging or help people who are cut off," he said.

Gleed Fire Chief Jim Kohl said he doesn't anticipate major problems for his small community. Although things could change if the river channel migrates, as the Naches can do, he said.

The Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Naches River from the community of Cliffdell downstream through Naches to the north end of Yakima over the next several days.

The river is expected to reach flood stage today and could peak late Sunday before starting to drop.

If projections are accurate, the high water will approach records set in the last major flood in 1996 when the Naches River tore out a section of State Route 410, leaving Cliffdell isolated.

But Jim Hall, director of the Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management, said this shouldn't be compared to the 1996 flood, which saw rain fall atop low-elevation snow sitting on frozen ground.

This high-water event will react differently, Hall said.

Still, local emergency officials aren't taking any chances. He said county road crews will be watching levees and bridges for signs of erosion and damage.

"Some of the big fear is that water will run high and there will be channel migration and erosion so people who live on the river will watch the bank wash away," he said.

State Department of Transportation crews, likewise, will monitor Highway 12 between the 16th and 40th avenues interchanges because high water tends to erode the highway foundation.

A flood watch -- which suggests less extensive flooding -- also was issued for the Yakima River from Umtanum in the Yakima River Canyon to near Kiona, east of Prosser.

Melting of snow that will send rivers out of their banks, however, could be offset by the ability to capture much of the high-mountain melt in the five irrigation project reservoirs.

The Bureau of Reclamation reported Thursday the five reservoirs held nearly 577,000 acre-feet of water, just 54 percent of capacity.

Cold weather has kept the snowpack in place and delayed melting until the current spate of hot weather.

Little problem is expected for urban and low-lying creeks like Wide Hollow, Ahtanum and creeks on the Yakama Nation reservation because there is no low-lying snow to cause them to surge.

Marilyn Lohmann, a weather service hydrologist in Pendleton, Ore., said a high pressure system that is bringing near-record daytime high temperatures and some mountain rain is responsible for the high water.

Daytime temperatures are expected to reach 92 degrees today and 96 degrees Saturday. Temperatures will fall into the mid-70s by Wednesday, according to the latest weather forecast.

She said the river forecast center in Portland changed its earlier prediction of very limited flooding after a review of satellite data and snowpack water content.

"They reworked a lot of the data and where the snow is and the elevation. They came out with an extremely changed forecast," she said.

According to projections by the river forecast center, the Naches will be about two feet above flood stage at both Cliffdell and at Naches, northwest of Yakima.

The peak flow at Cliffdell, forecast to occur late Sunday at 32.65 feet, would make this flood the second worst on record.

The record flood occurred on Feb. 9, 1996, when the Naches River hit 32.97 feet.

Flood stage at Cliffdell is 31 feet.

Downstream, the Naches River at Naches is forecast to exceed its 17-foot flood stage early Friday and peak at 20.5 feet.

The record for the Naches River at Naches occurred on Dec. 23, 1933, at 22.9 feet.

The Yakima River at Parker, south of Union Gap, will surpass its 10-foot flood stage Saturday and peak at about 11.5 feet.

Both Lohmann and Hall cautioned the public to be careful about approaching the rivers. Strong currents and cold water temperatures make for a hazardous situation.

"It can be dangerous. If people don't know what they are doing, they shouldn't go there," Hall said.

Lohmann said water temperatures will be around 40 degrees or slightly higher.

"We are looking at a lot of snowmelt. The water temperatures will be cold. People should use more caution," she said.

* David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.