Week ahead will be chilly, with some cold rain and wet snow

Temperatures soared to the middle 8os in parts of Iowa on Saturday with a high of 86 in Des Moines, Iowa, and 64 as close as Albert Lea, Minn.  Meanwhile, an overcast sky kept the mercury in the 50s in central Minnesota.  There was a sharp springlike boundary that triggered a widespread soaking rain event.

Heavy, nearly steady rain fell, and embedded thunderstorms drenched central Wisconsin.  The rain changed to snow Sunday evening.

The weekend rainfall total at Waterloo, Iowa, was 3.68 inches, with just shy of two inches in Des Moines.  La Crosse, Wis., tallied 1.22 inches of rain on Sunday for a new daily record for April 13, beating the old record of 1.05 inches set in 1912.

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Estimated rainfall ending on Sunday evening. Image:NWS

The radar estimate of accumulated precipitation is overstated, in part due to some mid-level ice returns that exaggerate the precipitation amounts.  But it defines the area that likely received the heaviest rainfall. Reports to the National Weather Service indicated close to three inches of rain fell in some places in the bright bands.

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Light snow fell Sunday evening in Rochester, Minn., where the city measured nearly 2 inches of snow by midnight.  The weekend precipitation in Rochester totaled 1.25 inches.

The light precipitation on Saturday totaled only 0.14 inches at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

A snow event continued this morning in parts of central Wisconsin where up to 3 inches of snow may fall.  Be cautious if you are headed east beyond Eau Claire this morning.

Radar shortly after sunrise captured the snow falling in Wisconsin.

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Screen capture of precipitation around 630 a.m. CDT. Image:NOAA

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High temperatures today will be more typical of early to mid March than mid April.

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Strong thunderstorms that hammered parts of the Missouri Valley on Sunday afternoon and evening are likely to redevelop in the far south today.

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Image:NOAA

Water levels are high on lakes, streams and rivers, particularly in southeast Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, as well as the Red River of the North.  But the river stage is already headed down at Grand Forks, N.D.  The precipitation on Wednesday is expected to stay mostly south of the river basin.

This hydrograph from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracking the river level at Grand Forks indicates the river stage is headed down.

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Image:National Weather Service.

A weather maker is shaping up for mid week and we'll be tracking the chances of accumulating snowfall.  Currently, a couple of inches of wet snow look to be most likely north of the Twin Cities.

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Potential for 4 inches or more of snow on Wednesday. Image:National Weather Service

Liquid precipitation could be quite generous as well during mid week.

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Forecast of liquid precipitation on Wednesday into Wednesday night. Image:NOAA

Looking beyond the rest of the week, Sunday's temperatures are expected to be close to seasonal normals.

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Maximum temperature forecast for Easter Sunday. Image;NOAA