A cool week ahead; Mississippi River dips below flood stage at St. Paul

Last May, our Twin Cities metro area temps were warmer than normal on 27 of the 31 days, and we had highs of 90 degrees or warmer on six days.

We won't be seeing 90s or even 80s anytime soon.

Monday highs are expected to be in the 50s across much of Minnesota, with some lower 60s southeast:

Some spots in the Twin Cities metro area will touch 60 degrees, which is well shy of our average May 6 high temp of 67 degrees. There will probably be some upper 40s near the Canadian border.

Metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 60s Tuesday, followed by lower 50s Wednesday, mid 50s Thursday and lower 60s on Friday.

Rain chances

Occasional showers are possible overnight Sunday night in roughly the southern third of Minnesota, plus parts of western Wisconsin.  Some showers could linger into Monday morning drive-time in sections of southeastern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin.

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Periods of rain are expected in much of southern Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin Wednesday and Wednesday night. A few lingering showers are possible Thursday morning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern Wednesday through Thursday morning:

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the precipitation rate (mm per hour), not to the total amount of rain.

River levels are falling

The Mississippi River has been below flood stage at St. Paul since Saturday evening, and the river level continues to fall.  The Mississippi River had been above flood stage at St. Paul since March 23!

You can click on any location on the NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service  (AHPS) site to get hydrographs of recent and forecast river levels. Some locations list levels in feet above sea level, others list levels in feet above a local reference point.

Here’s the Sunday evening hydrograph for the Mississippi River at St. Paul:

This is a Sunday evening view of Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul:

Here's that same area on March 31:

The March 31 crest was the seventh highest crest of the Mississippi River ever recorded at St. Paul:

There are still flood warnings along some rivers in Minnesota. You can get flood warning updates by clicking on any green-shaded location on the National Weather Service Twin Cities website.

Here’s how their map looked Sunday evening:

The latest flood warnings for northwestern Minnesota can be found on the NWS Grand Forks, N.D., site.

Projected river levels are updated on a regular basis, so check back to the AHPS site and the National Weather Service point forecasts for the latest info on the rivers near you.

If you’d like to scroll through hydrographs along a certain river in central or southern Minnesota, check here. Hydrographs for the Red River can be found here.