The ice drift this year will be accompanied by an increased risk of ice jams and flooding; however, weather conditions in spring will be of great importance, reported the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center (LEGMC).
If there are large accumulations of snow in the river basins and spring turns out to be warm and rainy, the ice drift and flooding of areas may occur rapidly, which would be the most unfavorable scenario, noted hydrologist-methodologist of the meteorological center Liga Klints.
The gradual onset of spring will allow the flood to pass without significant negative consequences.
Due to severe frosts, ice has formed over long stretches of rivers, and in several places, ice compressions have already formed, which have raised the water level. Currently, the prolonged frosts are beneficial, as the water level is gradually decreasing, and the accumulations of slush are being washed away. The wide ice edge in the Gulf of Riga may also hinder the ice from breaking up in the rivers.
The formation of ice jams is most likely in the upper reaches of the Lielupe River from the confluence of the Musa and Memele rivers to the confluence of the Lielupe and Sesava rivers, as well as in the section of the Daugava River from Nereta to Aiviekste.
As Klints noted, it is dangerous to go out on the ice, as the rivers froze gradually and the ice mostly has uneven thickness. The thickness of the ice on the rivers ranges from 11 to 43 centimeters, while on the lakes it is up to 33 centimeters.
