Munster firefighters and resident volunteers heaved sandbags across the town's side of the Northcote Avenue and Columbia Avenue bridges Saturday night as the Little Calumet River rose ominously.

"This is precautionary and maybe an overreaction," Munster Town Councilman Michael Mellon said as he watched. "Everyone is a bit skittish, the residents, the council, everyone is just a little skittish."

Munster Town Manager Tom DeGiulio said though the water was still below the bridge decks, they acted Saturday to take advantage of volunteers available and expects the bridges to reopen Monday.

Scores of Munster homes were flooded four months ago by a record flood surge, including Rey Candelaria's, which is being rebuilt.

"Just like last time," Candelaria said early Saturday.

South winds gusted unseasonably warm air into the region that liquified its crust of ice and brought waves of thunderstorms and steady rain.

The National Weather Service said the river at Munster stood at 9.13 feet as of 9:15 p.m. Saturday, less than 3 feet below flood stage. It is expected to crest at 13.1 feet about 6 a.m. today, well below September's historic crest of 17.31 feet at Munster.

The Little Calumet River at South Holland stood at 14.89 feet as of 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Flood stage is 16.5 feet. According to the National Weather Service, the river is expected to crest at 16.7 feet about 6 a.m. today. During September's flood, it crested at 20.16 feet.

Candelaria said he'd like to see the flood wall completed from Kennedy Avenue to the state line and low bridges across the river between Hammond to Munster blocking that levee closed.

Hammond city officials are fighting any move to close Northcote or any other bridge, which they said are vital links to city traffic.

Roger Cardwell, a Hammond police spokesman, said Saturday his city is monitoring, but not sandbagging Northcote or Columbia.

Farther south, the Kankakee River at 8:45 p.m. Saturday stood at 11.2 feet, which is more than 2 feet over its flood stage.

Dennis Strain, a resident of Sumava Resorts, which is perched along the southern bank of the Kankakee in Newton County, said the community's pumps are keeping floodwaters 30 inches from most homes.

"We're all right unless there is an ice jam downstream," Strain said.

Sheets of water stood across several local roads Saturday as well as Hammond's Riverside Park, just north of the Little Calumet.

Lake County Surveyor George Van Til said water flooded some streets and parking lot but "it wasn't as bad as we had expected. "This has been the wettest year in my memory," he said.

No significant flooding had been reported in Porter County by late Saturday, according to Phil Griffith, director of Porter County Emergency Management.

Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor and John McDaniel, a Lake Station councilman and assistant police chief, said their city workers were closely monitoring areas hardest hit by the flooding in September.

Times staff writer Brian Williams and Times photographer Jessica A. Woolf contributed to this report.