Tuesday, March 16

Rising water.........

This post has nothing to do with quilting or stitching. It's all about rising water on the Minnesota River. I had to go to the post office this morning, so I took my camera along to take a couple of pictures of the river. I drove to a small spot where you can park and look back at the bridge so I could get a feel for just how high the water is. I don't have a "before" picture but this is high and is nearing flood stage.

The river has risen rapidly in the past two days because there is an ice and debris jam just a half mile upstream. The Minnesota River flows north out of Henderson. That's right......north. And from Henderson, it continues to flow north to cities and towns in the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis like Belle Plaine, Jordan, Shakopee and Savage.

Right now, there is water getting through, but there's a lot of water that can't get through because of the ice and debris jam. What you see in the photo above is not snow on the river, but huge junks of ice and lots of tree trunks and other debris that have ended up in the river due to our rapid spring melt.
The last report I heard tonight said that the ice and debris jam is almost two miles long. I grew up in a river town, so I've seen ice jams before. Have never seen one quite like this one. It's kind of a waiting game now. I'll keep you posted. That Mother Nature is really making spring interesting.
Sandi

12 comments:

julieQ said...

Take care dear lady, I know you are keeping one eye on the news for sure!

Pat said...

That all sounds very threatening, so I hope there is no major property damage, injuries, or loss of life because of this. (When it's all safely passed, you can get a BEFORE picture by that bridge and we can then see the comparison.) Stay safe! My daughter and SIL have been bailing out their basement for more than 2 days now and it just keeps coming because the ground is so saturated. It is very alarming for them and they are both now losing pay from having to take off from work to do that.

Crispy said...

Ice dams are very cool to look at but the problems they cause are very depressing. I hope you stay high 'n dry through all of this.

Crispy

Owl Lady said...

There are a few places in this area (Kansas City) that are prone to flooding. So far, they have had one threat this spring when we had rain day after day. One spot flooded at the river's edge (Missouri River). We live near a tributary that flows into the Missouri River. When we moved in, the Army Corps of Engineers was finishing a flood control public lake about 3/4 mile from us, which has made this area safe from any flood that would rate as much as a 100-year flood. Our prayers will be with the residents of Henderson and other towns along this river.

Laura said...

Stay safe! I have been keeping an tabs on the flooding along the Red River, which is also getting bad really quickly. I didn't realize that the Minnesota River also flowed north. You learn something new every day!

CreativeHands said...

Wow!! Stay safe Sandi!!

Needled Mom said...

Wow! That is amazing!

Sunny said...

We had flooding almost every year near where we lived as kids. It is not nice when it begins to cover the roads and come into peoples houses. Keep safe!
I enjoy your quilt posts very much!

Latane Barton said...

Those pictures look cold and wet. We've had a lot of rain, too and I am so ready for it to be sunny and warm.

Beth said...

Be careful. Flooding is so scary, it seems like there is never an end to the water.
Hope you stay safe and dry.

Barb said...

Those are great pictures! Stay safe! Our rivers have also been at or above flood stage with the rain we had this weekend, however, we have no ice jams like yours!

I am looking forward to the bunny hop list!

Barb said...

Those are great pictures! That river looks pretty high to me! Stay safe! Our rivers have also been at or above flood stage with the rain we had this weekend, however, we have no ice jams like yours!

I am looking forward to the bunny hop list!

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