As anyone who lives near the rivers knows, if you have a good snow pack with warmer temperatures in the forecast, you need to watch the rivers carefully. For those who might be new to Nebraska, due to the flat nature of the rivers (Nebraska does mean literally ‘flat water’) during the winter the water freezes into ice. This ice has to go somewhere, and as temperatures warm it begins to break up and flow downstream. Occasionally, ice can get stuck at river bends or in shallow parts, acting as a dam. This can lead to major localized flooding. Most recently, the historic floods of 2019 were in part caused by ice jams, but 1993 and 1978 were big years as well.