The unseasonably warm temps a couple of weeks ago unleashed the annual spring flooding threat around Minnesota, though below normal temps have tamped things back down a little bit. Cities and towns across Minnesota will see nearby rivers cresting for the first time this week. Yeah, you read that right. It is likely that many rivers will see multiple crests this year.
Barring some sort of unanticipated levee collapse it appears that most of the threatened cities will get through the next week okay. The threat of ice jams is still present along many of the rivers and that also could create sudden flooding. In addition, there is still a fair amount of snow north of the Twin Cities and any rain that we get in the next few weeks could change the situation quickly for the worse. The NWS current flood statements can be found here.
On the western border of the state, the Red River tributaries are starting to rise. The latest NWS statement for that area now says "All points along the Red River now have a better than 98 percent risk of major flooding." There is still a lot of snow out west also and the risks of record flooding is rising all along the river basin. Don't be surprised if you start hearing news about Fargo-Morehead and Grand Forks in the next couple of weeks.
Our friends north of the border have Duff's Ditch to handle what the Red River throws at them and I'm not concerned for them. For those to our south: It will be coming soon, so lookout below.
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