Ice jam in Maumee River triggers flood warning by weather service

1/16/2014

A National Weather Service flood warning remains in effect until Friday morning because of an ice jam along the Maumee River.

The jam, described to the weather service as 10 feet high, is about a mile upstream of the Grand Rapids Bridge, which carries State Rt. 295 over the river. Flooding is occurring in Grand Rapids, Ohio and surrounding low-lying areas, the weather service said.

Temperatures remaining at or below freezing during the coming days could reinforce the ice jam, forecasters said, but there is an on-going risk that it will break up with no warning, with the potential for ice chunks to re-jam farther downstream. A sudden release of water trapped behind an ice jam also can cause additional flooding downstream.

The most likely locations for ice jams are at river bends, bridges, islands, sand bars, or other locations where river flow is obstructed. Water can rise quickly behind ice jams.

The weather service said people with property along the river should be alert to rapidly changing conditions and alert authorities to new jams or flooding that they observe.

The current warning is in effect until 9 a.m. Friday and involves the Maumee along the Wood-Lucas county line. It could be extended depending on future conditions.