The Pawcatuck River is hovering just below flood stage, but is not expected to reach the 7-foot “minor flood” level at the U.S. Geological Survey’s streamflow gauge at the border of Westerly and Pawcatuck.

Jeff Ouellet, hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass., said Tuesday that colder temperatures and dry weather predicted for today and Thursday should prevent any rapid melting of remaining snow and keep the river from flooding. When the river rises over six feet at the Westerly-Pawcatuck gauge, it is considered at “action stage,” he said. It was at about 6.6 feet on Tuesday and was expected to reach 6.8 feet by today.

Amy Grzybowski, emergency management director for Westerly, said she has been watching the river closely and is not aware of any flooding. Westerly and Pawcatuck experienced severe flooding in late March of 2010, so both communities monitor the river, she said.

“It’ll probably teeter-totter for the next month,” she said.

Since the floods, she said, the town has purchased and razed three homes on Canal Street that were badly flooded in 2010, and is taking other steps to reduce flood vulnerability, she said.

In Stonington, Emergency Management Director George Brennan said he visited the most flood-prone areas in Pawcatuck on Tuesday and did not see any flooding.

“It’s running like crazy, but it doesn’t look like anything that’s going to pose us too great of a threat right now,” he said. “I’m going to just keep monitoring it.”

The Pawcatuck is currently the only river with a USGS stream gauge in either Connecticut or Rhode Island that has risen to the “near flood stage” level.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy