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WILKES-BARRE — The Susquehanna River began to recede overnight after cresting above 20 feet due to an ice jam just south of the Wilkes-Barre Railroad Connecting Bridge, also known as the Frog Bridge.
What appears like Boulder Field at Hickory Run State Park, large chunks of ice cover the surface of the river shore-to-shore.
The river hit 20.48 feet at 6:45 p.m. Sunday, about two feet below the natural flood stage of 22 feet. Levees protect most of the Wyoming Valley up to a river level of 41 feet.
At 7:15 a.m. when a reporter stopped to observe the river along Riverside Drive in South Wilkes-Barre, the level had dropped to 19.20 feet.
According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, the river is forecasted to continue to recede but remain above the 10 feet caution stage through Wednesday. At 10 feet, certain pumping stations along the levees are activated pumping storm water runoff into the river.
Luzerne County Emergency Management alerted residents on its Facebeook page on Sunday that the Civil Air Patrol was doing a fly over to assess river ice jams.
Frigid temperatures remain in the forecast with light snow moving into the area Monday night.
One to three inches of snow is expected by Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, N.Y.
