News : December flooding: Rising waters not expected to cause damage

Unusual December rain storms have raised the Cedar River to an unusually high December level.

Usually at this time of the year, area residents are looking at the Cedar River and wondering how soon the ice will be thick enough for ice fishing or snowmobiles.

Not this year.

Area residents are watching the river, wondering how high the water will rise.

In the past three days, the Cedar River level as measured at the Vinton USGS (United States Geological Service) monitoring station rose from 6 to 13 feet.

Benton County Emergency Management Director Scott Hansen says he has never seen the river level this high at this time of the year.

The good news is that after two heavy rain systems affected much of northern Cedar River basin, the forecast does not include any heavy rain.

Hansen said the expected impact of rising water is limited to a couple of roads near the river being covered with water. The rising water is the result of two surges that followed unseasonal December rain events.

The USGS page indicates that the river will crest at around 14 feet on Thursday evening, and then gradually decrease to under 12 feet by Christmas Eve.

See the river level page HERE.