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The Hannibal riverfront was a popular place Sunday afternoon, Jan. 24, as curious motorists - and walkers - arrived to watch both large and small chunks of ice float down the Mississippi River. The entire river had been frozen for three weeks until Sunday, and it was still frozen solid on both the east and west riverbanks.
With the river frozen and the river level at or above flood stage, city officials have been keeping a close watch to determine if the flood gates needed to be installed, according to John Hark, Hannibal’s director of emergency management.
“We had a scare this afternoon,” Hark said Sunday night. The National Weather Service had predicted the local river level would reach 20.7 feet by Wednesday, Jan. 27, he said, but this was because of a malfunction of the river level gauge, perhaps due to the ice.
“We had been prepared to set some of the flood gates on Monday,” Hark said. Then he learned about the gauge malfunction.
“After the ice jam (at Hannibal) broke at about 4 p.m. Sunday, it started going down,” he said. The river had started flowing about mid-morning Sunday before the local ice jam had completely broken. “I’m glad to see the ice off and that it is able to drain,” he added.
“I believe it dropped a half foot in a short time Sunday,” he said. “If it continues on its path it is going now, we won’t have to set flood gates, but we were prepared to do so. We will check it again Monday. If it is continuing to drain out and is no longer a threat, we will take no action.”
At the boat docking area, water in part of the boat marina has thawed, but the nearby Mark Twain Riverboat was still docked amid large chunks of ice, and the tug boat dock was in solid ice Sunday evening.
The rapidly flowing river, with small patches of water surrounded by masses of sharp-edged ice “sculptures,” enticed several people to take pictures.
In addition to many branches of trees and some large tree trunks embedded in ice, three river markers encased in ice floated down the river Sunday afternoon, along with pieces of boat docks.
Smaller rivers north of Hannibal that flow into the Mississippi have been flooding, bringing the tree branches and other debris into the river, Hark said. “The North and North Fabius and other rivers in Lewis County are all flooding and running into the river.”
The Hannibal riverfront was a popular place Sunday afternoon, Jan. 24, as curious motorists - and walkers - arrived to watch both large and small chunks of ice float down the Mississippi River. The entire river had been frozen for three weeks until Sunday, and it was still frozen solid on both the east and west riverbanks.
With the river frozen and the river level at or above flood stage, city officials have been keeping a close watch to determine if the flood gates needed to be installed, according to John Hark, Hannibal’s director of emergency management.
“We had a scare this afternoon,” Hark said Sunday night. The National Weather Service had predicted the local river level would reach 20.7 feet by Wednesday, Jan. 27, he said, but this was because of a malfunction of the river level gauge, perhaps due to the ice.
“We had been prepared to set some of the flood gates on Monday,” Hark said. Then he learned about the gauge malfunction.
“After the ice jam (at Hannibal) broke at about 4 p.m. Sunday, it started going down,” he said. The river had started flowing about mid-morning Sunday before the local ice jam had completely broken. “I’m glad to see the ice off and that it is able to drain,” he added.
“I believe it dropped a half foot in a short time Sunday,” he said. “If it continues on its path it is going now, we won’t have to set flood gates, but we were prepared to do so. We will check it again Monday. If it is continuing to drain out and is no longer a threat, we will take no action.”
At the boat docking area, water in part of the boat marina has thawed, but the nearby Mark Twain Riverboat was still docked amid large chunks of ice, and the tug boat dock was in solid ice Sunday evening.
The rapidly flowing river, with small patches of water surrounded by masses of sharp-edged ice “sculptures,” enticed several people to take pictures.
In addition to many branches of trees and some large tree trunks embedded in ice, three river markers encased in ice floated down the river Sunday afternoon, along with pieces of boat docks.
Smaller rivers north of Hannibal that flow into the Mississippi have been flooding, bringing the tree branches and other debris into the river, Hark said. “The North and North Fabius and other rivers in Lewis County are all flooding and running into the river.”
