Mild St. Patty’s Day: Rapid snowmelt in Red River basin
An unusually strong and mild ridge of high pressure over the Upper Midwest will produce unseasonably mild temperatures today. It will also melt snow rapidly in still snow covered areas that feed into the Minnesota and Red River watersheds.
Abundant sunshine and snow free ground should cause temps to soar into the low 60s this afternoon in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. That's about 20 degrees above average for St. Patty's Day.
In the west still there is still enough snow cover to keep temperatures in check. Still, highs should reach the 50s today. That will be plenty warm enough to melt more snow, and send some of the 2 to 6 inches of water trapped in snow cover into area rivers.
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Latest snow water equivalent analysis shows snow has melted in eastern Minnesota. Anywhere from 2" to as much as 6" (dark blue) of water still lies in the snow cover in western Minnesota and the Eastern Dakotas.
The mild temperatures will linger through tomorrow before Friday's cold front returns temperatures to near average as we head into the weekend. Expect highs in the upper 30s and lows below freezing this weekend.
PH