A brief break from heavy rains; steamy Friday, then Saturday thunderstorms

With swollen or flooding rivers in parts of southern Minnesota, it would be great to string together several dry days.

The next couple of days are expected to be mostly dry in much of southern Minnesota, but some forecast models show thunderstorms returning to the area late Friday night and Saturday into Saturday night.

Portions of northern and central Minnesota have a chance of scattered thunderstorms late Wednesday and also late Thursday.

River flooding update

Here's the Tuesday flooding summary from the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service:

Flood Statement

National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN

1020 AM CDT Tue Jun 26 2018

...The flood warning continues for the following rivers in

Minnesota...

Cottonwood River at New Ulm affecting Brown County

Minnesota River at Mankato affecting Blue Earth and Nicollet

Counties

...The flood warning continues for the following rivers in

Minnesota..

Minnesota River at Henderson MN19 affecting Le Sueur...Scott and

Sibley Counties

Minnesota River near Jordan affecting Carver and Scott Counties

Minnesota River at Savage affecting Dakota...Hennepin and Scott

Counties

Redwood River near Redwood Falls affecting Redwood County

.Overview...

This river forecast is based on rainfall over southern Minnesota during

the last few days...and also forecast precipitation for next 24 hours.

Any additional heavy rains could cause river levels to rise higher than

predicted.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Do not drive cars through flooded areas. Turn Around...Don`t Drown.

Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio or your local radio or TV station

for the latest information concerning this flood event.

&&

MNC037-053-139-272119-

/O.CON.KMPX.FL.W.0024.000000T0000Z-000000T0000Z/

/SAVM5.1.ER.180621T2045Z.180701T1200Z.000000T0000Z.NO/

1020 AM CDT Tue Jun 26 2018

The Flood Warning continues for

The Minnesota River at Savage.

* until further notice.

* At 10:00 AM Tuesday the stage was 704.5 feet.

* Minor flooding is occurring and Minor flooding is forecast to

continue.

* Flood stage is 702.0 feet.

* Forecast...The river will continue rising to near 708.2 feet by

Sunday morning then begin falling.

* Impact...At 705.0 feet...Flood waters begin to impact the park road

at Fort Snelling State Park.

* Impact...At 702.0 feet...Barge loading stops at Port Cargill, and

other flood prevention measures are begun. Water begins to impact

Black Dog Road in Burnsville.

* Impact...At 700.0 feet...Flood waters begin to cover trails at Fort

Snelling State Park as well as low parts on the Bloomington Ferry

Bridge trail just east of US 169.

The NWS web page has a map like this:

The green-shaded areas have flood warnings, and you can click on their map to get warning details.

You can also find graphical NWS updates on river levels for many spots around Minnesota throughout the day and night.

If the location of interest is not listed there, try the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service page and click on a location for river level details and forecasts.

For example, here’s the hydrograph for the Minnesota River at Jordan:

If you scroll down to the bottom of AHPS hydrograph pages, you will see what happens at various river levels.

Here’s what they have for Jordan:

29.5 Highway 41 at Chaska may close when the river reaches this stage.

26.7 The bridge at Scott County Road 9 and Carver County Road 11/Jonathan Carver Parkway will be closed.

25 Low lying areas and some roads along the river begin to flood and private sanitary sewers may experience problems.

You can check with the Minnesota Department of Transportation for the latest info on road closures.

If you're wondering about the Mississippi River at St. Paul, AHPS shows that it is expected to rise slightly more than two feet between now and Sunday:

That would put the Mississippi River at St. Paul at minor flood stage this weekend.

According to the AHPS page, portions of the Lilydale park area begin to experience flooding at the 14 foot river level that is forecast to be achieved on Saturday.

River forecasts will be adjusted for additional rainfall.

Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and updates are also posted on the MPR News live weather blog.

Temperature trends

Many Minnesotans will see highs in the lower 80s Wednesday, with a few upper 70s in the northeast:

Temps will be a bit warmer on Thursday.

Take a look at these hot Friday highs, which will probably reach the 90s in about the southern half of Minnesota:

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Dew point temperatures are expected to be in the 70s across southern Minnesota on Friday, which would generate heat index temperatures of 100 degrees or warmer in southern Minnesota Friday afternoon.

High temps return to the 80s in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities this coming weekend.

That'll feel better!