AUGUSTA – Maine’s winter snowpack has gained up to 4 inches since mid-March, and it could lead to serious flooding, officials say.

The snowpack in the Androscoggin River valley is the equivalent of a foot of water. Elsewhere, snowpack levels are above normal virtually everywhere in Maine, ranging from 6 inches to a foot.

Normally, the snowpack diminishes this time of the year, but instead it’s increased by the equivalent of 3 or 4 inches of water since March 15, Bob Lent, vice chairman of the River Flow Advisory Commission, said Wednesday.

“This means that even normal rainfall, coupled with warming temperatures, could produce serious flooding,” said Lent.

Homeowners, schools and businesses should make sure they are prepared for flooding, warned Art Cleaves, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

Weather forecasters say there are no major storms in sight during the next few days, but the situation could change. Meanwhile, river flows remained normal or below normal, and little snowmelt was occurring in the headwaters of Maine’s major rivers.

“We continue to hope for no rain, a gradual warm-up and cool nights, which would diminish the threat gradually,” said Cleaves. “But if we don’t get that, we should have our plans in place.”

Maine’s deep snowpack is having another effect. Animal control officers say it’s causing many animals to forage for food in populated areas in the state.

A large number of deer, foxes, coyotes and wild turkeys are being sighted, said Mark Stadler of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Earlier this week in Ogunquit, police shot two foxes that came into a neighborhood off U.S. Route 1 because they appeared to be sick. Numerous wildlife sightings also have been reported in Biddeford Pool, York and Kennebunk.

Stadler said the animals will return to their normal habitats when the snow melts.