ENOSBURGH, Vt. (WCAX) – Flood watches are in place through Thursday for all of northern Vermont and New York as warming weather breaks up ice on area rivers.
The recent thaw has caused ice on rivers like the Missisquoi to break up and flow downstream in large blocks. With snowmelt raising river levels, officials say there is potential for jams and flooding.
Residents in Enosburgh said they have seen it before and are not overly concerned at this point.
“We’ve had ice clear up to the top of the guardrails before,” said Chade Bartsch of Enosburgh.
“Ice jams can be scary, but this one’s not. It’s pretty well settled. Luckily, the water’s not high,” said Pierre Boudreau of Enosburgh.
Boudreau said he has seen the spot jam up every year.
“It’s a tight spot for the river. It kinda narrows over there and that bridge tends to hold a dam,” he said.
The National Weather Service said ice jams are hard to predict since ice can get caught on anything and pile up at any time.
Vermont Emergency Management Director Eric Forand said officials are mainly watching the Missisquoi, Winooski and Lamoille rivers, but jams can happen on any waterway.
“It’s the unknown of where some ice might just happen to catch. It might’ve not caught in the last 100 years, but today it just catches,” Forand said.
He said if ice stops water flow completely, conditions can change rapidly.
“It pushes the water out over the banks into the fields or into homes — so that’s really what we’re watching for,” Forand said.
When the ice jam in Enosburgh began to release, it got caught again before reaching a second jam farther down.
Dry weather on Monday helped keep the situation in Enosburgh from escalating. Forand said rain or additional snowmelt in the coming days could prompt more concern.
“It can accept some amounts of water but not all of it, so it depends how much rain comes down, coupled with how much snow is melted before ice starts to break up,” he said.
“That’s the way nature works, you know, Mother Nature is the boss,” Boudreau said.
Authorities say people should stay away from rivers near ice jams, as situations can escalate rapidly. Those living near a river are advised to have an evacuation plan and a go-bag with essential items ready.
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