Melting snow in the western mountains has created worries about rising water downstream on several Maine rivers, but major flooding was not expected when the rivers crest, officials said Tuesday.

A weather forecast that called for mostly sunny skies over the next few days was expected to help the situation, said George Wiseman, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Gray.

Flood warnings were in effect for the Androscoggin and Kennebec rivers, which were expected to crest early Thursday.

The Androscoggin River near Auburn was about a foot below flood stage Tuesday afternoon, and the river was expected to crest 2 feet above flood stage by Thursday morning, the weather service said.

The Kennebec River at Augusta was 2 feet below flood stage Tuesday afternoon and was expected to crest at flood stage Thursday.

Emergency management officials have been keeping close watch on Maine rivers because of a greater-than-normal potential of spring flooding from a combination of warmer weather and a deep snowpack.

The flood worries this week were caused by snow melting upstream in the western foothills and mountains, Wiseman said.

The warm days have been tempered by colder weather at night that has kept the snow from melting too fast, he said.