With cold temperatures returning to mid-Michigan this week, the threat of ice and snow returns to people’s minds.
Earlier this month, WKAR News spoke to the National Weather Service about the potential for ice jams this spring. The threat was high due to significant ice coverage on mid-Michigan waterways.
Ice jams happen when river ice starts melting and large chunks of ice float downstream and stack. The chunks dam rivers and can cause major, rapid flooding if they break.
Now, the threat of ice jams has disappeared, said Andy Dixon, hydrologist at the National Weather Service.
"The good news is that the warm-up we had last week with the rain, it was almost textbook," he said. "Just absolutely perfect."
Nearly all of the snow and ice in the region melted and there was no flooding, he said.
Even though the weather has cooled again, there isn't enough time for the ice to return, he said.
"This time of the year, things are starting to warm up, and it's harder and harder to get those big cold snaps," he said. "So, we're not going to refreeze the rivers that just melted in the southern part of the Lower Peninsula, and that's not a concern."
Even though flooding from ice jams is no longer a risk, that doesn't mean flooding can't happen this spring, he said.
Any flooding that does take place would be caused by heavy rainfall, Dixon said.
Michigan's soil composition absorbs rainwater and helps prevent rapid, flash flooding, but water levels in smaller rivers can still rise quickly, he said.
Dixon said it's important for people living by water to have a plan.
"Especially if we start to get into some heavy rain situations, and you start to hear about widespread regional-type rainstorms, that's going to be the time to pay extra attention," he said.