Several regions of the U.P. are under a flood warning, including Paint River at Crystal Falls and Sturgeon River near Alston. A flood watch indicates that the conditions for a flood are occurring and that a flood might occur, while a flood warning indicates that a flood is actively occurring.

A flood advisory is in effect for Marquette County, including some small stream flooding off of the Chocolay River. A flood advisory is called when flooding is not considered severe enough to warrant a flood warning. Flood advisories have also been called for the Sturgeon River near Nahma Junction and the Middle Branch Escanaba River at Humboldt.

“We do have flooding that is occurring and expected to happen around the U.P.,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Nick Langlieb. “We’ve had some areal type flooding yesterday in Menominee county, and portions of US-2 were impacted.”

That area of the U.P. experienced 2-3 inches of rain Sunday into Monday in combination with all of the snowmelt, which resulted in flooding.

Duck Creek is seen emptying into Lake Superior. (Journal photo by Annie Lippert)

“Most of the swamps are full, and the low-lying areas are pretty waterlogged,” said Langlieb. “Rivers are starting to respond as well; we have several rivers moving toward flood stage as we go through the next few days.”

Several of those rivers are in Marquette County.

“The Chocolay River near Harvey is expected to get into a minor flood stage by early Tuesday morning,” said Langlieb. “Very similar for the Escanaba River near Gwinn; we’re expecting it to reach a minor flood stage as well.

“The Sturgeon River is expected to get up to a minor stage near Allston, approaching moderate by the time we get late in the week depending on additional rainfall. The Menominee River is forecast to get close to 19.8 feet, which is a major flood stage. The record is 20 feet; it will be getting close to record levels near McAllister.”

There are a few things that people can do to respond appropriately to flooding concerns.

“Monitor the forecast, and definitely don’t try to drive across any flooded roads,” said Langlieb. “The water is going to be a lot deeper than it looks. Luckily it does look like the heaviest rain is trending south, more over central and north-central Wisconsin. It’s the combination of heavy rain and snowpack that we don’t want. Make sure you’re keeping up with forecasts, especially if you live near any rivers.”

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.