Cold start to the week; flood warnings in northwestern Minnesota
Hard freeze Tuesday morning
Cold weather is the main topic for many Minnesotans as we start the work week. Flooding is the main weather topic in much of northwestern Minnesota right now.
Some spots in northwestern Minnesota saw 2 to 4 inches of rain from Friday through Saturday night:
That rain, combined with snow melt, has caused extensive flooding in portions of northwestern Minnesota, where flood warnings were issued this weekend. Those flood warnings have now been extended into Tuesday in most of the green-shaded area on the following map:
Here are details of the flood warnings:
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Flood Warning National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 347 PM CDT Sun Apr 24 2022 MNC007-029-087-107-113-119-125-NDC097-262100- /O.EXT.KFGF.FA.W.0008.000000T0000Z-220426T2100Z/ /00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/ Beltrami MN-Clearwater MN-Mahnomen MN-Norman MN-Pennington MN-Polk MN-Red Lake MN-Traill ND- 347 PM CDT Sun Apr 24 2022 ...FLOOD WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM CDT TUESDAY... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues. * WHERE...Portions of Minnesota and southeast North Dakota, including the following counties, in Minnesota, Beltrami, Clearwater, Mahnomen, Norman, Pennington, Polk and Red Lake. In southeast North Dakota, Traill. * WHEN...Until 400 PM CDT Tuesday. * IMPACTS...Numerous roads remain closed due to flooding. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 347 PM CDT, local law enforcement reported numerous road closures across the warned area. Flooding is already occurring. - Some locations that will experience flooding include... Crookston, Ada, Fosston, Red Lake Falls, Bagley, Mahnomen, Fertile, Twin Valley, McIntosh, Halstad, Clearbrook, Erskine, Oklee, Fisher, Island Lake in Mahnomen County, Hendrum, Plummer, Gonvick, St. Hilaire and Climax. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Safety message - Turn around, don`t drown. Don`t travel through flooded areas. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Please report observed flooding to local emergency services or law enforcement and request they pass this information to the National Weather Service when you can do so safely.
The flood warnings may have to be extended in some areas. You can get flood updates here.
River and stream levels have risen rapidly in many parts of northwestern Minnesota.
NOAA’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service site shows river gauges across our region. You can click on any gauge at that site to get recent and current river levels plus the forecast levels over the next few days.
The Red Lake River at Crookston, Minnesota is at major flood stage and it could reach record flood stage for that location on Monday:
The Red River at Oslo, Minnesota is expected to reach major flood stage on Monday and it could approach a record level for that location on Thursday:
The Red River at Grand Forks is at moderate flood stage Sunday afternoon and it is forecast to reach major flood stage Monday night, with a peak level on Wednesday:
Precipitation chances Sunday evening
Portions of northwestern and north-central Minnesota will see snow showers Sunday evening and overnight, with a mix of rain and snow showers in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. A few scattered rain showers are possible elsewhere in Minnesota. Northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin could see scattered light snow showers on Monday.
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Cold temps to start the week
Low temperatures early Monday morning are expected to reach the 20s across much of northern and western Minnesota, with some lower 30s elsewhere.
Monday highs will be in the 30s in northern and central Minnesota, with some lower 40s in the far south:
Our Twin Cities high will be around 40 on Monday; that’s more than 20 degrees below our average April 24 high temp in the Twin Cities.
Low temps late Monday night into early Tuesday morning will be in the 20s in most areas:
Far northern Minnesota could see some teens.
Tuesday highs be mainly in the 40s, with 30s in far northern Minnesota and a few lower 50s in the far southwest:
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the upper 40s Wednesday, then around 50 on Thursday and in the upper 50s on Friday.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.