WASHBURN, Maine — Rain and above freezing temperatures around the winter solstice caused the Aroostook River to rise, creating minor flood risks during the cold days following Christmas, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service station in Caribou issued an advisory on Dec. 26 cautioning people about the potential for minor flooding in low-lying, poorly drained areas, particularly in Wade and Washburn.
Shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, members of the public reported slowly rising river levels behind an ice jam along Gardener Creek Road in Wade. Gage readings show the river fluctuating about a foot above the flood stage of 14 feet, with ice nearing the guardrails on Gardner Creek Road, the National Weather Service reported.
The NWS advised that there is potential for minor flooding along Gardner Greek Road and Route 164 between Washburn and Presque Isle.
A “solstice soaker” brought more than 1.5 inches of rain to central Aroostook County and temperatures on Friday and Saturday topped out in the mid-to-upper 40s. While there was some lowland flooding due to rain runoff over the weekend, there were no reports of flooding across roads in the Aroostook watershed.
Darren Woods, director of the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency, was monitoring the rain event as part of a team of local government leaders, forecasters at the National Weather Service and members of the public. The Aroostook EMA maintains the Aroostook County Floodwatch Facebook page to gather and share reports on flooding, mostly during the spring ice out.
Woods said that the river is still being observed closely for flood potential, but the risk currently is low.
“There was enough runoff during the rain, that it busted up some of the ice and moved it downstream,” Woods said. “Currently that ice is hung up and is not moving. We’re keeping an eye on things. Right now, we don’t have any immediate hazards that we’re worried about.”
It remains to be seen if the late December thaw’s impact on the river changes anything about how the river’s ice melts and moves in the spring. Periods of above freezing temperatures in the coming winter months could also change the river’s dynamic.
“Time will tell,” Woods said. “It depends how much the river goes down and how much of a thaw we get.”
