An ice jam along the Mississippi River near Elk River, backed up through Otsego and into Monticello, has caused the National Weather Service to issue a rare winter time Area Flood Warning for parts of Wright County along the waterway.
The jam formed on the river during the extreme temps over the weekend – some areas saw actual temperatures of more than 20 below zero in Wright County – and has lodged itself along the bends of the river in Elk River and Otsego (the two communities share the river as a border). The best view of the jam can be seen near 101st Street Northeast in Elk River.
Walt Lee, who has lived near the river for decades in Otsego (north of County Highway 39) said he remembers a jam like this 30 years ago, when the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant was shut down for upgrades, but that’s the last time he can recall a jam like this on the river.
Lee submitted these photos of the ice jam to North Wright County Today on Thursday. 
Here’s the NWS statement:
The National Weather Service in The Twin Cities has extended the
- Flood Warning for… An Ice Jam in… Southeastern Sherburne County in central Minnesota… East central Wright County in central Minnesota…
- Until 1215 PM CST Thursday
- At 1115 AM CST, a long ice jam on the Mississippi River from the city of Elk River upstream is causing localized flooding of low property near the river. Flooding has been reported in Wright County in Otsego Park and further upstream near 101st Street. Flooding is also ocurring on the north side of the river near the Mississippi Oaks neighborhood. River levels will remain steady or slowly rise until the ice jam releases.