Hard to predict what spring will bring

By David Heiller

Argus News Editor

The Hokah area is breathing a sigh of relief after an ice dam caused the Root River to flood roads and threatened businesses on February 6.

That was the day that warm weather and rain brought the river up quickly and caused an ice dam to form at the Highway 44/16 bridge in Hokah.

Water backed up, threatening businesses, closing roads, and shutting down Hokahís wastewater treatment plant for a couple days. Two motorists drove their cars into the water and were unable to drive out. The drivers were not hurt. The Junction Inn had to be sandbagged and closed, and Tri State Motors had to hustle away about 70 vehicles.

But the river opened up a week later, thanks to more warm weather and a steady rain, and no more flooding has been reported.

City maintenance worker Keith Lewis said on February 11 that the sewer plant was running properly again, although there was still some infiltration.

ìWeíre still going to have some high flows with the water table as high as it is,î he said.

Ice floods have happened before, he said. ìI canít remember when we had this much ice though,î he added. ìWeíre weathering it.

Lewis said that a dike north of the river kept the water centered on the sewer plant area on Sunday and made things worse. The dike broke in several places, which brought the water level down. Lewis didnít anticipate any problems from now on because the dike is open in so many areas.

ìI hate to see the water going through somebody elseís property, but most of that is ag land.î

ìIt will just be a matter of waiting for it all to melt so we can start a clean up,î he added. ìThatíll take some time. Some of this ice is 14 to 18 inches thick and some of the pieces are huge.î

Jeff Boyne, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in La Crosse, said it is hard to predict what will happen in the coming months, partly because forecasters donít know the ice conditions and thickness.

Dry weather with temperatures warming up during the day and freezing at night would be ideal, he added.

ìIce jam forecasting is a very unpredictable science,î he said. They usually happen with a lot of rain and melted snow such as occurred on February 6. Ice hits a bridge or bend and builds up to create a dam, which backs up the water, he said.

There is now only 1-3 inches of snow on the ground, Boyne said. ìYouíve lost quite a bit of your snow melt, so thatís helping.î

Two other things may bring some optimism: forecasters are not expecting much precipitation in the coming weeks, and the channel at headwaters of the Root River in Mower and Olmsted county is 1-2 inches deep. A week ago it was 3-6 inches, Boyne said.

People in Hokah are taking it all in stride.

Joan Gaworski contended with floods on the north side of the river until about 3-1/2 years ago, when the Minnesota DNR bought her land. She is now quite content to view the fickle Root River from her kitchen window.

Gaworski has some skepticism about flood control efforts that the DNR and DOT have tried to do, such as the DOTís new dike on the south edge of the river. Last weekís flood and ice went right over the top of it. ìYou just arenít going to tell the Root River what to do,î Gaworski said. She thinks siltation is a big part of the problem.

George Walthers, who has farm buildings in the land to the south of the Root River, said he has never seen ice damage such as occurred last week. It wiped out his brand new fences, covered machinery, and sent four feet of ice onto the road. ìThey had a heck of a time moving it with a Cat.î

ìI donít know if my barnís going to stay standing or notî he added. ìAll my equipment is knocked around.î

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