Spring Flooding in Rich
County
We are all sick and tired of
the snow, cold and constant winter.
There is nothing we can do about it except bear it. It started to warm up this week and people
are thinking about flooding and sandbagging.
Mayor Leonhardt pushed a message out of Facebook on Friday letting
everyone know that there sandbags and sand available for the public to fill for
themselves. Garden City is also planning
to have a day for filling sandbags to put on pallets and store in the City’s
public works building for immediate emergency response. Preparation is the key to a successful
response.
This will be my 49th
spring at Bear Lake. I have seen many
flooding scenarios play out. The valley
is unique with weather patterns that are a direct result of Bear Lake. When they are planting flowers and mowing
lawns along the Wasatch Front we will still be in winter. Snow will continue with cold temperatures
mixed with periods of rain. When warm
air comes, most of it is reflected and cooled by the huge expanses of white,
snow. The elephant in the room, of course, is the big, block of ice covering the
lake. I have seen that persist into
May. I always thought ice melted from
the heat of the surrounding air. After
years of watching it, I have finally decided that the lake ice melts from the
bottom up. Once the Bear River starts to
melt, the floodwaters are diverted into the lake. The water temperature is higher and the
interface of warm water and ice results in melting. The elevation of the lake increases
creates areas of open water along and edges and wind then begins to move it
around. The ice will turn blue gray,
break into huge icebergs and then one morning it will be gone. Bear Lake’s two week, muddy, spring the
arrives. It will then be summer.
I wish I knew when all of
this will take place so we could prepare, but I don’t. It all depends on the weather. There will be more flooding than we have seen
for years, so prepare, take care and be safe.
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