Flooding, ice jams the worry now

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By Thomas Geyer | Wednesday, February 28, 2007 1:03 PM CST | () comments

(Larry Fisher/Quad-City Times) Ameren worker David Fair puts up a flag indicating work on storm damaged power lines on HW 150 outside of Alpha.

Flooding and dangerous ice jams along area rivers are now the concern as warmer temperatures and rain move into the area today and will continue through Thursday, the National Weather Service, Davenport, said.

A flood watch has been issued by the weather service. The Mississippi River is not the worry at this time, said meteorologist Linda Engebretson.

“It’s the tributaries and smaller streams that are the worry now,” she said.

“But I think it’s more of an issue with ice jams,” she added. “We have a lot of rivers iced up.”

Those local rivers include the Rock, Maquoketa, Cedar and Wapsipinicon.

Most area rivers are covered in ice, she said. They have been low, which gives them some leeway to rise.

However, the region has gotten a great deal of moisture, she added. And with the ground still frozen, any additional moisture will run off into the rivers.

The warmer temperatures today and Thursday

coupled with the rain make conditions are ripe for breakup jams, where the water pushes the ice upward from below.

How much rain the area receives will depend upon the track of the storm.

The high temperature today is expected to reach into the upper 30s while the high tomorrow should climb into the lower 40s.

“We’re looking at a fairly rapid warmup with an influx of water into the rivers,” Engebretson said.

Terry Swails, chief meteorologist at KWQC-TV6, said that the track of the storm determines what the region gets in the way of moisture and what type.

In the Quad-Cities, he said the moisture should only be rain.

“The new model I was just looking at has the storm tracking right over us which puts us in the dry slot,” he said. “The rain should be out of here Thursday afternoon.”

The rain should be widespread with amounts ranging from a half to three-quarters of an inch, he said.

“Of course, with the ground frozen, that water has no where else to go but into the rivers and streams,” he said.

The potential for ice jams is there, he said. But the chances could become higher if the storm changes its track and the area gets thunderstorms. If the storm holds its track, “We’ll have no problem with ice. And the only snow would be on the back end of this and accumulations will be negligible.”

Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com.