Last spring Orem resident James Barksdale underestimated Big Cottonwood Creek before trying to cross.

Barksdale, 32, added to what is considered a yearly statistic: people who drown in Utah during a time when cold canyon creeks swell and move much more swiftly.

The annual spring runoff falls under the umbrella of potential flood dangers this time of year.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has declared March 20-24 as Flood Safety Awareness Week, held in conjunction with a national campaign to educate people about the different types of flood dangers.

The most potential for flood danger right now is if Utah has several weeks of wet and cool weather, followed by sudden heat, according to Brian McInerney, the senior service hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.

"It will be good for water supply, but it will also exacerbate the flood threat," McInerney said.

At this point, he added, northern Utah's combined snowpack totals (in areas north of Nephi) are only slightly above average — about 120 percent. Throughout the entire state, the highest potential for flooding is in the Logan River and Upper Bear River drainages.

"And those threats are not very great," McInerney said. It would take rain on top of runoff, he added, to bring about flooding in those areas.

As always, southern Utah's narrow slot canyons pose a threat to hikers who ignore or are unaware of rainstorms above and possibly out of sight of canyon rims. But flash floods in those areas normally trap people instead of killing them, according to McInerney.

However, when mixing children and streams that flow down popular northern Utah canyons like Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood in the spring, people should be even more wary.

"I think it's a general rule of thumb — the force of the water will not allow you to walk through if it is over your knees," McInerney said.

The water in a mountain creek during spring is approximately 34 degrees, fast-moving and filled with debris that can trap a person.

McInerney warned that within two minutes, hypothermia can set in for a person who is stuck or simply trying to cross a creek swollen with spring runoff. People can get knocked over, lose control and get caught under a boulder or fallen tree.

"And this happens every year," McInerney added.

In January 2005, springlike rains in mountains near St. George sent the Santa Clara and Virgin rivers into a rage that claimed the life of one person who tried a creek crossing in his SUV in the Red Cliff Recreation area near Quail Creek Reservoir. Normally, those rivers have more of a creeklike flow.

"People save themselves and others a lot of grief and a lot of heartache if they follow simple rules during flooding and high runoff," said Derek Jensen, spokesman for the Utah Department of Public Safety.

Stay away from fast-moving water and don't try to drive across a flooded road, which could be washed away beneath the water's surface, Jensen said.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com