Mississippi Rising

Submitted by Doug Verdier (photos taken April 17, 2023)

The recent warm weather earlier this month resulted in significant snow melt, which has caused the Mississippi River water level to rise significantly as other rivers and creeks feed water into the river upstream. These images show some of the local impact of all that melted snow as it races through the City. Numerous low-lying communities along the rivers path are bracing and preparing for localized flooding.

The doors of the Upper St Anthony Falls Lock were opened to allow the surge of water resulting from snow melt upriver to flow downstream. Normally, the lock doors are closed and all the water coming downstream would go over the St. Anthony Falls on the right in this photo. That’s foam on top of the water, not snow. It’s moving very fast!

Looking toward the Third Avenue Bridge from South First Street gives a good sense of how fast the river is moving and how much deeper than normal it is as a result of upriver snow melt. The white foam on top of the water is a good indicator of how fast the water is moving.

The three yellow concrete structures bordering the canal show how much deeper the water level in the canal is due to the amount of water entering the river from upstream snow melt. The increased river level can also be seen beneath the plastic sheet-covered walkways surrounding the base of the pier during work on the Third Avenue Bridge. In more normal times the distance from the base of the walkways to the river is a couple of feet. 

St. Anthony Falls as seen from the Stone Arch Bridge. Foam, spray and amazing sound are something to experience.

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Editors Note:

When I drove home from work last night I was astounded at how much the Mississippi rose yesterday alone. In several spots between the 94 and Washington bridges, water had flowed over the cement barrier and covered both lanes of West River Parkway. (To be on the safe side, I opted for the Riverside route to Franklin Avenue this morning!)