An ice jam on the Aroostook River in the vicinity of Washburn led to flooding which resulted in the closure of several roads. The ice jam was due to the combination of a pre-existing ice jam from earlier in the winter and a new ice jam.
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The episode as NWS CAR wrote it up.
An ice jam on the Aroostook River in the vicinity of Washburn led to flooding which resulted in the closure of several roads. The ice jam was due to the combination of a pre-existing ice jam from earlier in the winter and a new ice jam. Rising river levels in the vicinity of the ice jams led to the eventual closure of several roads. Closures were reported on Parsons Road...Castle Hill Road...South Wade Road and Gardner Creek Road. The ice jam released during the late evening hours of the 21st. The surge of water with the ice jam release forced chunks of ice onto portions of Route 164 near Crouseville.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Caribou, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 17, 2:06 PM EST, 2 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Caribou ME 306 PM EDT Wed Apr 17 2019 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will crest over the area tonight then move east on Thursday as a warm front lifts to our north. A large high pressure system to our east combined with a strong storm over the Appalachians will bring a humid southerly flow with showers Friday through the weekend. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY/... High pressure cresting over the area tonight will bring a clear, calm, cool and moonlit night. The high will move east on Thursday as clouds quickly increase ahead of a warm front lifting north into the area. A southerly breeze will also rapidly increase during the day and showers will become likely, mainly over the north, during the afternoon as low pressure lifts from the Great Lakes area into Quebec. The showers may mix with just a bit of sleet or snow over far northeastern areas at the start. Otherwise, warmer and more humid air should begin to work north across the region as the south winds increase. && .SHORT TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/... Low pressure is expected to pass to the west of New England Thursday Night. This system will cause rain Thursday Night into Friday across the region. A cold front will become stationary just to the west of the State Friday Morning. Another low moving along the stationary front will result in more rain Friday Afternoon into the day Saturday as the front remains stationary to the west of New England. Due to high dew points in the southerly flow, fog is expected Thursday Night into Friday Morning and again Friday Night into Saturday Morning. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Low pressure will move to the north of the region Sunday with showers expected to continue upper level low pressure moving across the region. Strong high pressure is expected to build in from the northwest Monday and Tuesday then crest over the region on Wednesday. Another area of low pressure is expected to approach from the west on Thursday. && .AVIATION /16Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... NEAR TERM: VFR conditions are expected across the area tonight into Thursday morning. Conditions may lower to MVFR and possibly IFR Thursday afternoon in rapidly increasing and lowering clouds with a warm front. SHORT TERM: MVFR/IFR conditions are expected Thursday Night into Sunday. VFR/MVFR conditions are expected on Monday. && .MARINE... NEAR TERM: Winds will be very light tonight, then rapidly increase from the south on Thursday reaching SCA Thursday afternoon. Seas will begin to build Thursday afternoon in response to the increasing winds reaching 3 to 4 ft by late afternoon. SHORT TERM: Have used the Nam to initialize winds. For Waves: A southerly fetch is expected to develop across the Gulf of Maine Thursday Night into Friday with wind wave building to around 10 feet/8-9 seconds by early Friday Morning. Southerly wind speed is not sufficient for additional wave building Friday then waves will very slowly subside on Saturday. A new southeasterly fetch is expected to develop during the day on Sunday. && .HYDROLOGY... An ice jam has been occurring in the St. John river between Fort Kent and Van Buren and still has the potential to cause some flooding along the river tonight into Thursday. Ice jams will also be possible on the Allagash, Big Black and Fish through Thursday. The Aroostook is holding at moderate flood stage at Washburn and action stage at Masardis. The Matawamkeg is above minor flood stage and continuing to rise. Some flooding remains possible along these rivers through Thursday. However, most of the ice has pushed through so these will be open water flooding with very abrupt changes less likely than further north. A large, slow moving storm system lifting up through the Appalachians Thursday night through the weekend will bring a warm and humid southerly wind with periods of rain which will run from Thursday night into Sunday. Total rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches are possible across the north. The rainfall combined with snowmelt will result in a serious flood risk later this weekend into early next week. There is potential that flooding in the St. John valley may be as serious as the flooding of late April of 2008. All interests along the rivers are urged to stay updated on forecasts, alerts and warnings through the weekend into early next week. && .CAR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ME...Flood Watch through late tonight for MEZ001-002. MARINE...None. && Near Term...Bloomer Short Term...Mignone Long Term...Mignone Aviation...Bloomer/Mignone Marine...Bloomer/Mignone Hydrology...Bloomer
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Caribou ME 400 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2019 MEZ001-002-180800- Northwest Aroostook-Northeast Aroostook- 400 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2019 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Far Northern Maine. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Flood Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. A mild and humid air mass is expected across the region Friday through Sunday. It is likely that much of the ice will be flushed out of the rivers by the end of the week. However, there is still significant snow to melt from the central highlands north to the Saint John Valley. The combination of rapid snow melt and periods of rain will lead to additional rises on already swollen area rivers, leading to the potential for open water flooding. There remains uncertainty as to how much rain will fall Friday through Sunday, which will have an important bearing on how much the rivers rise and the extent of any possible flooding. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures. MEZ003>006-010-011-015>017-029>032-180800- Northern Somerset-Northern Piscataquis-Northern Penobscot- Southeast Aroostook-Central Piscataquis-Central Penobscot- Southern Penobscot-Interior Hancock-Central Washington- Coastal Hancock-Coastal Washington-Southern Piscataquis- Northern Washington- 400 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Central Highlands Maine, Coastal DownEast Maine, Far Eastern Maine, Interior DownEast Maine, North Woods Maine and Penobscot Valley Maine. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. A mild and humid air mass is expected across the region Friday through Sunday. There is still significant snow to melt from the central highlands north to the Saint John Valley. The combination of rapid snow melt and periods of rain will lead to additional rises on already swollen area rivers, leading to the potential for open water flooding. There remains uncertainty as to how much rain will fall Friday through Sunday, which will have an important bearing on how much the rivers rise and the extent of any possible flooding. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures. ANZ050>052-180800- Coastal Waters from Eastport, ME to Schoodic Point, ME out 25 NM- Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME out 25 NM- Intra Coastal Waters from Schoodic Point, ME to Stonington, ME- 400 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Atlantic Coastal Waters. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
An ice jam on the Aroostook River near Washburn led to flooding and the eventual closure of several roads. Closures were reported on Parsons Road...Castle Hill Road...South Wade Road and Gardner Creek Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Maine in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, April 2019
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 812904.