Photo courtesy of Tosha Reiter.
ERICSON, Neb- From the National Weather Service: Ericson Dam in Wheeler County, Nebraska failed Sunday evening, June 13th. Water levels at Ericson exceeded the maximum dam height and water flowed into the emergency spillway.
The spillway began to erode before 8 pm, and the spillway breached thereafter, causing water to drain from the lake. Water levels behind the dam were estimated at 23 or 24 feet, and this water drains into the Cedar River. At 945 pm CDT, the floodwater reached the Wheeler and Greeley County line, and 6 inches of water was flowing over the Highway 281 bridge. Around 11 pm, Greeley County officials reported water over county roads in northern Greeley County.
No evacuations were necessary in Greeley County as of Monday morning.
A flash flood warning is in effect for northeast Greeley County due to the failure of Ericson dam. There is a river gauge along the Cedar River near Spalding, and the Cedar River has climbed to just over 16 feet at this gauge site. County roads near the river are under water and significant low land flooding is anticipated. Farther downstream, the Cedar River near Fullerton is forecast to rise, but remain below the flood stage of 9 feet.
Photo courtesy of Tosha Reiter.
Photo courtesy of Erica Andrews.
Photo courtesy of Erica Andrews.
Photo courtesy of Erica Andrews.
Photo courtesy of Tosha Reiter.
Lake Ericson prior to the dam breaking. Courtesy of Erica Andrews.
Lake Ericson prior to the dam breaking. Courtesy of Erica Andrews.
Thank you for the photos. We have a cabin up there and were wondering how everything looked.
We appreciate the photos also. It’s tough to be so far away and only hear bits and pieces.
Very informative reporting and excellent pictures. We have vacationed at Lake Ericson for many years and we are looking forward to our Labor Day visit. Our hearts go out to the permanent and part time residents of the lake in light of this disaster.
I am stationed at FT. POLK,LA.My aunt and Uncle(Gary and Dixie Laughlin)live there and I wanna offer my sympathies to all who live there and have put in all of the hard work on that lake over the years, and I hope that no serious injuries occured.GOD BLESS