Most of the Grand River is covered in ice along nearly its entire length, from Hillsdale County to Lake Michigan.
Aside from a few areas of flowing water, the river is about 98 percent frozen, Andrew Dixon, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids, told WKAR News.
Dixon said ice coverage on the Grand River is among the greatest and thickest seen in recent years, driven by a prolonged stretch of below freezing temperatures. While the frozen river may appear calm, that thick ice could increase the risk of ice jams later in the season as temperatures rise and the river begins to thaw.
“That thick ice is a really bad thing because it can form a stronger ice jam than the jams that weaker or thinner ice can form,” Dixon said.
Ice jams form when broken chunks of ice get caught on river bends, bridges, or other obstructions, temporarily blocking water from flowing downstream. As water backs up behind the jam, river levels can rise quickly, sometimes leading to flooding upstream.
Those risks are familiar to communities along the Grand River.
CONCERNS FOR IONIA COUNTY
Earlier this winter, on January 7, a brief ice jam in downtown Portland left standing water in basements and revived memories of a severe flooding event seven years ago. WKAR News reporter Emma J Nelson was in Portland after the jam formed.
The ice jam naturally cleared, but it left waterlogged basements in its wake.
One stretch of the Grand River between two bridges in downtown Portland sees ice jams nearly every year. Timothy Fuller, president of Opera Block Properties, owns several buildings along that section of the river.
His properties took on standing water in their basements during the January ice jam.
“Enough to splash around in,” Fuller said. “But no damage this time.”
That was not the case during a major ice jam in 2019, when dozens of people were evacuated from downtown Portland. Fuller said floodwaters rose rapidly inside his buildings.
“When the water first came in, we had about a foot of it. We were in panic mode, and we went down into the basement and started pulling apart anything of value that we could get, standing in this ice cold water,” Fuller said. “Within 30 minutes, it was neck high.”
Fuller said he and his family did not move back into their loft for another year after the flood. Repairs to his properties cost about $1.6 million, and he said they are still recovering.
“Truth be told, we are not fully recovered from ’19,” he said.
Mark Torregrossa, chief meteorologist for MLive, said the severity of any individual ice jam is difficult to predict.
“You don't know if it's going to hold there for a long time and really build the water behind it and maybe cause some flooding upstream,” Torregrossa said. “Or then when it breaks loose, the water also breaks loose and moves down.”
Torregrossa said ice jams are relatively common along the Grand River as temperatures fluctuate, particularly during late winter when freeze thaw cycles become more frequent.
While current conditions pose less risk of a severe event due to low river levels and drought conditions, Torregrossa said the threat increases when warming temperatures and heavy rain combine.
“We're in drought,” Torregrossa said. “We have a low groundwater table right now. So these low rivers, the flow you were seeing in the fall and summer, that continues. You don’t get a lot of major ice jams when you have a situation like that.”
Still, Dixon said thicker ice is harder to melt, meaning stronger ice jams can persist longer once they form.
“If the ice is strong, maybe you don’t end up with an ice jam at all,” Dixon said. “But if you get a big rise from a warmup and a heavy rain event, you’re probably going to lift it enough to break the ice no matter how thick it is.”
Both Dixon and Torregrossa said people who live near rivers should be prepared for rapid changes during spring thaw.
Torregrossa warned residents not to underestimate moving water.
“Water wins,” he said. “Moving water is one of the most powerful forces on Earth. When you hear about the caution of an ice jam, heed the caution, because if Mother Nature and the ice and the water want to take you on, guess who loses. You do.”
