Ice jams in Lawrence County immediate street closures, potential flooding

Rising temperatures in Lawrence County are inflicting ice jams in rivers and creeks, resulting in street closures and potential flooding. As temperatures rise, the ice breaks up, strikes downstream, and causes ice jams. “The problem happens whenever the ice tries to move, especially around riverbends. It can get caught in those bends and move back up, and as that happens, you get this big pile up of ice that can keep water from even flowing downstream, almost like a mini dam. That can cause water to start building and eventually go over the banks,” Action News 4 Meteorologist Brian Hutton Jr. defined. Sky 4, Pittsburgh’s information chopper, supplied a view of the ice jams in Neshannock Falls, Lawrence County, on Wednesday. The ice is inflicting water to move over the banks of the Neshannock Creek. Due to this, officers have shut down a stretch of Route 956 between Mercer Road and Fayette-Neshannock Falls Road. Ice jams can block water and power rivers and creeks to flood. Hutton famous that rain can exacerbate the scenario. “Flooding only really usually happens if we pile up the ice enough or we get rain on top of the ice that’s still on the rivers and that causes the water level to rise,” he mentioned. For these residing by a river or creek, Hutton warned, “Ice never are more dangerous on the rivers. Our streams and creeks usually can move things pretty quickly because they’re not quite as deep and not as much water flows through them as our rivers do. As long as the ice moves, our streams can usually resolve themselves.”Officials are monitoring the scenario and maintaining a tally of native rivers and creeks.Looking for extra information in your space | Subscribe to the WTAE YouTube Channel