CARIBOU, Maine - Northernmost Maine remains under a flood watch today, as warming temperatures and melting snow cause water to build up behind ice jams and rivers in the area to rise. Ice remains a concern, as well, on the upper Penobscot and Piscataquis Rivers.
Forecasters are also keeping a close eye on next week, when rain is expected across the state.
The most immediate concern is the situation in northern Aroostook County, especially on the St. John River near the town of Dickey. Cory Bogel is a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Caribou.
"We are a little bit concerned because there is some pretty thick, jumbled ice there which hasn't moved a whole lot," Bogel says, "and likely some water that's beginning to kind of back up behind that."
Bogel says the ice jam on the St. John is a few miles long, at least. A crew with the National Weather Service has been out this afternoon, taking aerial surveys of the river.
Jay Field: "The Penobscot River, the Kennebec River - you have the Coast Guard that comes in with cutters to try to break up ice. What can be done up there?"
Corey Bogel: "Really, there's not a whole lot that could be done. I mean, I suppose that some measures could be taken. You could use some explosives or something like that. But it doesn't seem to be a part of the current course of action in these situations here."
There's another ice jam on the Aroostook River between Caribou and Fort Fairfield, though the weather service says water appears to be flowing through the obstruction. Bogel says the situation on both rivers may stabilize over the next day or so.
"We're expecting a pretty strong cold front to come through later today into this evening with most areas in northern Maine getting back below freezing," he says. That will slow the snow melt a bit and keep the ice on the rivers in place.
"We've been in touch with all of the local communities," says Bruce Fitzgerald, who heads the Maine Emergency Management Agency. "Aroostook County Emergency Management has someone up in the St. John Valley and he's monitoring things. So we feel pretty good about our preparedness up there."
Fitzgerald says the long-term weather forecast is worrisome, though. "What's more concerning for us is the rain that's predicted for Monday and Tuesday, and maybe into Wednesday, of next week. So we'll be watching that very closely."
A flood watch remains in effect in northern Aroostook County until midnight.