N.B. EMO warns of rising ice jam risk along upper Saint John River basin

The risk for ice jams will rise over the next several days in northwestern New Brunswick, according to the province’s Emergency Measures Organization.

EMO says a stretch of warmer temperatures will increase ice movement and water levels in the upper Saint John River basin. The five-day water-level forecast has Saint-Hilaire, N.B., hitting the flood warning stage early next week.

Ice movement, and the other hand, is far more difficult to predict.

“This really is the first shot in the spring freshet of real danger,” says N.B. EMO spokesperson Geoffrey Downey.

“While the water is starting to rise the river is broken up in a number of spots, but it’s still intact in others. So all of a sudden overnight, for example, you could see a lot of movement and really not really be aware.”

Ice jams have the potential to hold back water, causing a sudden increase in river levels.

Downey says EMO is closely monitoring ice movement in the upper Saint John River basin, and is urging people who live near the river to be vigilant.

To report an ice jam or rising waters in New Brunswick, call EMO at 1-800-561-4034.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued a flood advisory on Thursday for a portion of the Saint John River in northern Maine, due to minor flooding from an ice jam at Nine Mile Bridge in Aroostook County.