FARMERSBURG, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – So, what is an ice jam?
Example. The Wabash River is frozen. Warmer weather arrives and begins breaking apart the ice.
In varying sizes, the ice flow begins pushing downstream.
Ice can become lodged in tight or curved areas.
The blockage reduces the flow of the river resulting in flooding. This can be dangerous for anyone living close to a river.
Ice jams aren’t common on rivers in the Wabash Valley. They’re more common in northern Indiana and Illinois. Places where you have sustained cold, the Midwest, northeast and Alaska.
We do occasionally see ice floes move through the Valley. Remember that’s the ice that warmer weather has broken up. An ice floe is a large pack of floating ice often defined as a flat piece several inches across at its widest point, and up to more than seven feet across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice floes. They may cause ice jams on freshwater rivers, and in the open ocean may damage the hulls of ships.
These can cause damage. Think back to January 2018. Ice floe severely damaged the boat dock at Fairbanks Park in Terre Haute.