Where does mud river begin7/9/2023 Several locks and dams on the upper river are closed due to high water, meaning barges can't move upriver and downriver with goods that need to be delivered. More: Heavy, wet snow in upper Wisconsin, Minnesota raises risk of serious Mississippi River flooding The flooding is shutting down roads and halting river barges But the soil, still on the drier side from last fall's drought, soaked up water for the first three days of the melt, taking the edge off before it started running toward the river and flooding. Then, when the region experienced a string of 70-degree days in mid-April, that snow melted and water began pouring into tributaries on its way to the Mississippi.įorecasters initially feared that the floodwaters could be worse than the 2001 levels or even approach 1965 levels, Wendt said. The river floods every year due to snowmelt, but this year, an abundance of heavy snow held an extreme amount of water. You surely haven't forgotten how winter unfolded across Wisconsin and Minnesota, and then dropped what seemed like weekly wet, heaving snowstorms in the last few months. It's a result of all the snow we got during the winter Several other locations along the river recorded levels that are in the all-time top five, according to Jordan Wendt, service hydrologist at the National Weather Service's La Crosse office. Now, in La Crosse and Prairie du Chien, the river has reached its third-highest level ever. The second-highest floodwaters, at least in many locations, were recorded in spring 2001. In the spring 1965, the upper river flooded to its highest level ever recorded, causing $225 million in property damage. More: As heavy, wet snow melts, upper Mississippi River floods to near record levels Floodwaters are among the highest levels on record Here are five things to know about what's unfolding. Communities have come together to sandbag and wait out the worst of it until the river begins to return to its banks, and they can start cleaning up the damage left behind. The water is drenching fields and parks, impeding transportation and creeping into homes and businesses. Spring flooding on the upper Mississippi River has reached nearly historic levels this year, the result of overwhelming - and quick - snowmelt from Minnesota and Wisconsin.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |