Flooding in Maine, April 6 to 14, 2005

A combination of heavy late winter snows...several heavy rain events and thick extensive ice on area rivers and streams set the stage for a prolonged ice jam event across Aroostook county. Rising river levels due to a combination of heavy rain and snowmelt caused river ice to begin to move and jam in early April.An ice jam developed on the Aroostook River between Caribou and Fort Fairfield during the night of the 6th causing the river to overflow...resulting in the closure of a road along the Caribou - Fort Fairfield town line. Elevated waters from this ice jam backed up into several brooks and streams entering the Aroostook River near the point of the ice jam causing them to overflow their banks and threaten other roads.Another ice jam developed along the Aroostook River...upriver of the Caribou dam during the morning of the 7th. River levels rose quickly in the vicinity of the ice jam leading to flooding near the town of Parkhurst and along several roads bordering the river. During the night of the 7th...ice began to move on the Saint John River near Big Rapids and Dickey. Ice also began to move on the Allagash river...which feeds into the Saint John River near Dickey. Water levels on the Saint John and Allagash rivers...along with tributary streams and brooks...continued to rise through the night. This produced continued ice movement and jamming.The ice jam on the Saint John River in the vicinity of Big Rapids and Dickey continued to grow during the 8th with ice accumulating to depths of 30 feet in spots. Ice jams continued to produce rapid fluctuations across the Saint John...Allagash and Aroostook river basins during the 8th along both mainstem rivers and smaller streams and brooks. Another ice jam developed on the Saint John River between the towns of Grand Isle and Lille with continuing increases in river levels. Along the Aroostook River...ice jammed against the Route 1A bridge at Fort Fairfield where rising water levels closed the road for a time in the vicinity of the bridge.Melting snow continued to supply water to area rivers during the 9th and 10th. The Saint John river continued to rise in the vicinity of Grand Isle and Lille...with the river spilling over onto surrounding low lying agricultural lands in spots during the morning of the 9th. Elevated levels on the Aroostook River in the vicinity of Fort Fairfield continued to affect roads near the river. Other ice jams were scattered along the length of the Aroostook River leading to localized lowland flooding which affected some roads bordering the river. Along the Aroostook River...in the vicinity of Washburn...low lying areas of the town park and boat launch were flooded...with a portion of Route 164 near the river closed due to flooding. The Aroostook river briefly exceeded the flood stage at the Washburn forecast point. Flood stage at Washburn is 14.0 feet and the river briefly crested at 14.1 feet during an ice jam on the 9th. The ice jam on the Saint John River near Dickey and Big Rapids remained active resulting in the flooding of a private road which cut off access to several homes. A 2 mile long ice jam on the Aroostook River in the vicinity of Fort Fairfield continued to produce elevated river levels with spillover onto low lying lands and roads bordering the river. Ice jams persisted across the Saint John...Allagash and Aroostook River basins on both mainstem rivers and smaller streams and brooks. Many towns and roads were affected by elevated water levels due to ice jams. The ice jam near the Caribou dam finally released and moved downriver toward the Fort Fairfield ice jam during the night of the 10th leading to occasional flooding between Caribou and Fort Fairfield.Ice jams persisted on rivers and streams across northern Aroostook county during the 11th. A three mile ice jam existed on the Aroostook River near Fort Fairfield. Ice jams persisted along the length of the Saint John River from near Nine Mile Bridge in northwest Aroostook county to Van Buren in northeast Aroostook county along the border of Maine and New Brunswick. The ice jam on the Saint John River in the vicinity of Dickey and Big Rapids had grown to nearly 12 miles in length...with ice piled 30 feet deep in spots. Reports of bridge damage and closures from the North Maine woods began to be received during the morning of the 11th due to ice damage along both the Saint John River and Allagash Rivers. Flooding of low lying agricultural land persisted along portions of the Saint John and Aroostook rivers with sections of some roads remaining closed due to flooding.Ice continued to move and jam during the 12th with snowmelt contributing to further increases on rivers and streams...with numerous reports of ice jam flooding on both mainstem rivers along with smaller streams and brooks. Another ice jam developed near the mouth of the Saint Francis River where it feeds into the Saint John River...where an extensive ice jam still existed. The ice jam on the Saint Francis River led to flooding of surrounding low lying areas but did not threaten roads or homes. Flooding of low lying agricultural land persisted along the Saint John River From Grand Isle to Van Buren.Ice continued to move and jam across the region during the 13th. River levels finally began to recede during the 14th leaving much of the ice either grounded on river banks or along river bottoms. During the 14th much of the remaining flooding was confined to low lying agricultural land bordering rivers and streams. Ice jams persisted through much of the next week...particularly along portions of the Saint John river and Allagash river. However...the ice continued to decay with the rivers cutting paths through the remaning ice with ice also continuing to flush through the rivers. River and lake levels remained elevated enough to continue spilling over onto some low lying agricultural lands during this time. Much of the remaining ice was finally flushed through the river systems from the 20th to the 22nd...with other ice left grounded on the river banks to slowly melt. The ice jam on the Saint John River in the vicinity of Dickey and Big Rapids was considered one of the worst in decades.