TRAVERSE CITY -- The National Weather Service in Gaylord has issued a Flood Watch in effect through Monday afternoon, in addition to a Winter Weather Advisory for light freezing rain through mid-morning Sunday, enough to just coat all surfaces with a thin layer of ice.
Recent heavy snowfall and cold weather have formed ice on area rivers and streams, with a chance of flooding from ice jams. The Manistee River near Sherman and the Au Sable River near McKinley are especially prone to ice jam flooding. Milder temperatures Sunday and Monday will prolong the effect of ice jams. Favored ice jam locations are where a stream bends or slows, bridge abutments, near islands or sandbars, or other obstructions to flow.
The Flood Warning covers portions of eastern upper and northern Michigan, including the counties of Chippewa, Mackinac, Alcona, Alpena, Arenac, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Gladwin, Grand Traverse, Iosco, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon and Wexford.
