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Since You Asked: Forecasters don't expect 1964-type flood Sunday Jan 8, 2017 at 12:01 AM One of the elements of the 1964 flood in Southern Oregon was "rain on snow." Next week's weather forecast is for several inches of rain on the heavy snow we now have. Do you know whether our current conditions are similar to those that contributed to the great 1964 flood? — Fred F., Trail   You must be a real old-timer, Fred. Many of us here at Since You Asked headquarters weren't even born in 1964. However, many of us remember that the 1997 flood that wreaked havoc in local cities was caused by the same conditions as 1964, where heavy snow was followed by heavy rain. We checked with the National Weather Service in Medford to see what the forecast is for next week, when warmer temperatures and rain are expected through most of the week. "The conditions that are expected to occur will not be long enough duration or heavy enough precipitation to cause flooding of that magnitude," said meteorologist Brad Schaaf. Still, the Rogue River at Agness could hit flood stage, and the Coquille River in Coos County also could reach flood stage. Small streams could overflow their banks, leading to localized flooding, and some urban flooding in Grants Pass and the Illinois Valley, which saw 2 feet of snow, may also occur, he said. Low temperatures are expected to hover above freezing most of the week and then drop down to about 32 degrees by Thursday and Friday. Schaaf said there's a lot of snow in the higher elevations that should be able to absorb the rainfall through the week, but he doesn't expect the kind of severe melting that helped cause the 1964 and 1997 floods.  — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. To see a collection of columns, go to mailtribune.com/youasked. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.