Cottonwood River flood warnings continue
Trending
BROWN COUNTY -- Flood warnings continued Monday for the Cottonwood River at New Ulm, the Redwood River near Redwood Falls and the Minnesota River at Morton and Henderson, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Ice jamming that was affecting rivers over the weekend subsided somewhat as warmer temperatures continued to melt what was left of the snowpack, read the warning.
"Expect river levels to remain saturated but gradually diminish this week, with ice jams still a threat on smaller tributaries," the NWS warning said.
The Cottonwood River at New Ulm was observed at 10.78 feet at 10 a.m. Monday, March 9. Flood stage is 11 feet. The river is forecast to rise to near 11.9 feet by Wednesday morning and fall below flood stage by early Saturday morning.
Large ice chunks, tree branches and roots lined the Cottonwood River bank as the river raced under the Cottonwood Street bridge at the south edge of New Ulm Monday.
The City of New Ulm Street Street Department re-opened Cottonwood Street early Saturday evening after it was closed for several days due to the swollen river that left large amounts of sediment in nearby Adams Park.
The Cottonwood River above Springfield was observed at 22.68 feet at 10 a.m. Monday. Flood stage is 22 feet. The river is forecast to rise to near 23.5 feed by Tuesday morning and fall below flood stage by Thursday afternoon.
The Minnesota River at New Ulm was observed at 796.65 feet at 1:45 p.m. Monday. Flood stage is 800 feet. The river was forecast to rise to 797.6 feet Thursday afternoon and remain at action flood stage (796 feet), for more than a week.
Other river observations:
• The Redwood River near Redwood Falls was observed at 6.7 feet at 10:30 a.m. Monday. Flood stage is six feet. The river is forecast to fall below flood stage by Friday morning.
• The Minnesota River at Henderson was observed at 730.95 feet at 10:30 a.m. Monday. Flood stage is 732 feet. The river is forecast to rise to 732.4 feet by Wednesday morning and remain above flood stage until Friday morning.
Water begins encroaching on State Highway 19 east of Henderson at 732.5 feet. At 732 feet, water begins impacting residences and agricultural buildings north and south of Henderson.
• The Minnesota River at Morton was observed at 21.6 feet at 9:30 a.m. Monday. Flood stage is 21 feet. The river will continue rising to near 22 feet by early Wednesday morning, then begin falling.
At 23 feet, Riverside Road and Front Street are flooded in North Redwood. At 19 feet, water reaches flood mitigation culverts on Riverside Road.
For more information, visit https://water.weather.gov/
Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.