NorthIowaToday.com contributor Joe Buttweiler observed the Winnebago River Friday afternoon.
Sunshine floods the sky as the Winnebago River approaches its bank along Birch Drive on Friday morning in Mason City. While Thursday’s highs in North Iowa were in the mid-50s, those Friday and Saturday are expected to be about 40 degrees.
A winter blanket of ice breaks up on the Winnebago River north of Mason City’s John Adams Middle School, in background.
An ice dam in the distance restricts flow on the Winnebago River Friday morning east of the Illinois Avenue bridge in Mason City.
The swollen Winnebago River approaches its banks Friday morning west of the Illinois Avenue bridge in Mason City.
Huge ice slabs and downed tree limbs clog the surface of the Winnebago River on Friday morning along Birch Drive east of Illinois Avenue. The river level was at 6.5 feet at 8:30 a.m. Friday and was projected to reach 6.9 feet before dropping slowly to 6 feet by Sunday and 5 feet by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Flood stage is 7 feet.