Flood warning issued for Dickinson County in Iowa

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A flood warning has been issued for the following rivers in Iowa and South Dakota: The Ocheyedan near Spencer; the Little Sioux River near Milford, Spencer and Cherokee; and the Big Sioux River at Hawarden and Akron.

Runoff from the melting of the existing snowpack combined with ice jams and the additional one tenth to one third of an inch of rain that fell this week have caused rapid rises on portions of the Big Sioux and Little Sioux rivers.

Minor flooding is being reported or is expected in many locations through the end of this week.

One known ice jam is between Cherokee and Correctionville on the Little Sioux River. Flood stages have jumped as much as 7 feet above the jam at Cherokee, while stages have dropped to more than 3 feet at Correctionville below the jam.

Due to the uncertainty of stages both above and below ice jams, people can expect rapid fluctuations of up to several feet within a few hours.

The National Weather Services encourages people to be alert to rapid changes in water levels for the next day or two. Motorists are reminded not to drive cars through flooded areas, because water depth and road conditions may not be safe.

The flood warning for the Little Sioux River at Spencer, Iowa, will expire late Friday night. At 6 a.m. Wednesday the stage was estimated at 11 feet. Minor flooding is occurring, as the flood stage is 10.0 feet.

The National Weather Service forecasts that the river will crest near 11.3 feet today, and will fall below flood stage Friday. Fluctuations of several feet are possible if ice jams form.

At stages near 10 feet, the right bank overflows and minor flooding of the Spencer City Park and some rural agricultural areas begins.

More updates will be posted as they become available.

Tags: news, ocheyedan, iowa, ri er, floodwarnings