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Our spring deluge is making it tough to keep your feet dry on some Lake Minnetonka docks this year.

Heavy spring snow melt and recent rainfall pushed Lake Minnetonka to the highest level in almost three years this week. Tuesday's lake level was recorded at 930.25 feet above sea level according to 

data from the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District

. That's the highest water level since May 23, 2011, when the lake reached 930.26 feet. The lake level is up about 20 inches from last fall.

The high water levels have some docks, and even boats under water in Deephaven. City boat ramps are adjustable to a point, but high water can make it difficult for some boat owners to moor boats and keep them dry.

I asked Deephaven Mayor Paul Skrede if the city is seeing any issues with the high lake levels.

Yes I am dry. It pays to live on top of a watershed where my back yard drains into Lake Minnetonka and my front yard drains into Purgatory Creek!

Seasonal Weather Whiplash: From fall drought to spring flood

The high water is quite a turnaround from conditions last fall when the Lake Minnetonka watershed was in drought. 

The past 90 days have featured heavy rain and snowfall totals in eastern Minnesota. Many lakes and rivers have rebounded dramatically from low levels last fall. Eastern Minnesota has soaked up 8 to 10 inches or more of precipitation in the past 90 days. Recent storm tracks have kept western Minnesota's precipitation totals lower.

Here's a look at the 90-day precipitation analysis from 

NOAA's Advanced Hydorlogic Prediction Service.

The high water levels on Lake Minnetonka triggered a 

 from the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District. Wake restrictions are in effect.

High water in Minnetonka and limited discharge capacity on Minnehaha Creek can pose some challenges for the

who manages lake levels and flow into Minnehaha Creek. High water and fast flow in the creek can impact many west Twin Cities metro communities between Minnetonka and Minneapolis.

It can be a balancing act. Too much water Lake Minnetonka poses problems for lakefront communities. Too much water in the creek can flood creek side residents downstream.

I asked the water district's Telly Maymayek about how the MCWD anticipates changing lake levels, and makes decisions about controlling flow into Minnehaha Creek. Here are some selected portions of her response.

Thanks Telly. I can appreciate the tough job of managing water levels for Lake Minnetonka and Minnehaha Creek. My guess is MCWD gets plenty of "feedback" from folks in the watershed on which lake and creek level is best. To be fair, this has been a tough transition from fall to spring given the rapid change from drought last fall -- to near flood conditions this spring.

It might benefit MCWD to use more focused (paid) operational meteorological support. The heavy late season snow and multi-inch spring rains were well forecast, and a more focused effort could have allowed district to release more water from Lake Minnetonka before the "

" hit in late April and spiked lake levels to a 3-year high. Not being overly critical of MCWD here, but professional meteorological support saves many business and government operations save significant revenue and increases operational effectiveness. It can help the operational decision making process more than most organizations realize.

The good news? A drier forecast, milder temperatures and increased evaporation over the next few days should allow lake levels to drop steadily on Lake Minnetonka for the next several days. NOAA's 5-day rainfall outlook suggests under a quarter of an inch for the Twin Cities area.

We endure two more frosty mornings in much of the Upper Midwest. Once again

Blue remains the dominant fashion color on the weather maps this week.

Milder temperatures gradually build in by this weekend. In fact, the weekend looks fairly fantastic at this point. Two mostly sunny dry days on a weekend? Alert the media.

The European Model is the most optimistic about our chances for 70 degrees on Sunday.  A low spinning through early next week may bring a return to some showers with temps int he 60s, but Old Man Euro is cranking out 70s again by late next week as we approach Memorial Day Weekend.

Our first of the big three summer holiday weekends is just over a week away? How did that happen?

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Our spring deluge is making it tough to keep your feet dry on some Lake Minnetonka docks this year. Heavy spring snow melt and recent rainfall pushed Lake Minnetonka to the highest level in almost three years this week. Tuesday’s lake level was recorded at 930.25 feet above sea level according to data from the 

Our spring deluge is making it tough to keep your feet dry on some Lake Minnetonka docks this year. Heavy spring snow melt and recent rainfall pushed Lake Minnetonka to the highest level in almost three years this week. Tuesday’s lake level was recorded at 930.25 feet above sea level according to data from the Read more →


Tonka reaches highest level in 3 years, 70s ahead

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