The situation with ice on two eastern Nebraska rivers remains a “dynamic” one that can change quickly, a National Weather Service official said.
Minor flooding is possible along the Elkhorn River Tuesday from West Point to north of Fremont and along the Platte River from North Bend to Ashland, the weather service said.
The weather service is watching the Elkhorn River closely, in part because of an ice jam near Pilger, said Bryon Miller of the weather service office in Valley.
There also were some minor overflows reported Monday on the Platte River near the Linoma Beach area.
“It doesn't look like we would have any major problems, but some minor flooding on both the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers is certainly possible until all the ice flushes out,” Miller said.
A short-lived report of an ice jam on the Elkhorn in Douglas County showed just how quickly things can change.
The report was received Monday morning from a reliable source, Miller said. But a flyover of the river Monday afternoon found only intermittent ice on the river between Dodge Street and Highway 36 — and no jamming.
“Things can change hour to hour,” Miller said.
A light rain fell Monday night. By 11 p.m., the weather service measured .20 of an inch of moisture and Eppley Airfield had .14 inch. About a half-inch of rain was expected by Tuesday morning.
In addition, a flood warning was issued for Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon for parts of Saline County along the Blue River near Crete.
Miller also said there still was quite a bit of ice in the Elkhorn River in parts of Dodge, Cuming and Stanton Counties.
“Down around the Ashland area, we have a flood advisory out,” Miller said. “So Dodge, Cuming and Stanton Counties, we're watching them pretty close.”
World-Herald staff writer Susan Szalewski contributed to this report.
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