Flood Watch: Rain may spike river levels this week
Fog and low clouds linger over much of Minnesota Monday as the next weather system pushes rain toward the region.
This will be an interesting week for river watchers.
The weekend snow melt has some rivers showing a slight uptick in river levels. There is still anywhere from 2" (metro) to as much as 8" (western Minnesota) of water content in snow pack around Minnesota these days. The quickest way to release some of that water is with rain. And rain is exactly what's heading our way this week.
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There is some good news as we head into a mild wet week. Many rivers are well below flood stage, so we have some room for increased runoff this week. The big question is how much rain will fall, and how much water content from the deep snow cover will be released into area rivers?
The latest flood forecasts take all of that into account. This is a busy time of year for NWS Hydrologists who are watching weather forecasts and river gauges like hawks. There is still a 61% chance that Harriet Island in St. Paul will be submerged this spring.
Major flooding is also likely on the Red River in Fargo and Grand Forks this spring.
Right now it appears rainfall could range from .30" to as much as 1" in much of southern Minnesota this week.
Stay tuned for changes in river levels as snow melts and washes into area rivers later this week.
PH