Updated at 11:53 a.m

The National Weather Service has expanded its flood watch for Wednesday to include nearly the entire state of Vermont, meteorologist Eric Myskowski said Tuesday.

Early Tuesday morning, the weather service issued a flood warning beginning Wednesday afternoon for the western half of the state. However, the service later issued an expanded notice for all Vermont counties except Grand Isle.

The weather service has predicted 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain Wednesday, but another concern is rising temperatures in the 40s or even 50s in some areas, Myskowski said. This increase is expected to cause the snow already on the ground to melt.

“Right now there’s probably about 1 to 2 inches of liquid snow on the ground in central and eastern Vermont – at the highest elevation it’s close to 3 or a little more,” he said. “A significant amount of it will eventually melt into the rivers.”

As of Tuesday morning, the river forecast predicted several rivers would reach flood stage, although none were expected to reach levels as high as historic floods in July 2023 and 2024. The worst forecast was for Otter Creek in Rutland, where flooding was predicted moderate flooding on Thursday morning.

The weather service reported that the Mad River in Moretown and the Little River near Waterbury Reservoir were expected to reach minor flood stage. Seven more rivers across the state were expected to reach “action levels.” “Action level” is below the official flood level, but water levels are so high that the weather service is recommending local authorities take action to reduce the risk of flooding.

There is also a risk of flash flooding in smaller streams and bodies of water, said Myskowski. He recommended that Vermonters be careful not to drive through floodwaters.

The weather service also forecast areas of freezing rain on Tuesday. The flood watch begins at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and is scheduled to last until 7 a.m. Thursday