Adding to the misery that comes with all the snow and the cold, the National Weather Service has extended a Flash Flood Warning for the east channel of the upper Niagara River in Niagara Falls and Grand Island. An ice jam formed between the Power Authority intakes above the falls and Cayuga Island. Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster says ice breakers from the U.S. and Canada have been out since Tuesday morning trying to break up the jam.
"There is some optimism...that their breakers, working in conjunction with the Canadian ice breakers, have now got the ice moving. So there is more ice coming down the river. They seem to have broken the jam that formed earlier, so that's good news," says Dyster.
Officials are watching for possible flooding in low-lying areas along the river, but Dyster says no major damage has been reported and evacuations are not warranted.
Low-lying areas on the Robert Moses Parkway and La Salle Expressway under the North Grand Island Bridge are flooded and closed as of Tuesday afternoon. Conditions are unstable and could continue worsen. Flooding was also beginning along the Grand Island shoreline of the east channel.
The Flash Flood Warning is in effect until 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.