Chilly weekend; Several rivers are at or near major flood stage

Yes, it’s unusually chilly today.

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 60 degrees this time of year. Much of the metro area will see Saturday highs around 40 degrees. A few spots in the metro area could top 40.

Parts of Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin will have Saturday highs in the upper 30s. Southeastern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin could reach the lower 40s.

Temperature trends

Sunday highs will be in the 40s across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with some 30s in northwestern Minnesota:

Monday high temps reach the 40s in most of northern and central Minnesota, with around 50 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area and southern Minnesota:

Some spots in south-central Minnesota could reach the lower 50s.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the mid 50s on Tuesday, followed by upper 50s Wednesday then lower 60s Thursday and mid 50s on Friday.

Flake chance?

Scattered flurries and isolated sprinkles are possible in Minnesota and western Wisconsin this Saturday.

Sunday looks mainly dry, but one forecast model shows very scattered rain/snow showers popping up Sunday afternoon.

You can find updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network.

River levels

Rivers have reached flood stage in many parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with rivers at major flood stage at some locations. Rivers will continue to rise in many locations this weekend and into next week.

You can check the river levels at various locations in northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin here.

This is how the linked map looked Saturday morning:

You can find info on river levels elsewhere in Minnesota and western Wisconsin here.
Here’s how the linked map looked Saturday morning:

You can zoom in on the linked map page and get detailed info on river levels at a specific location.

I should mention that river levels are measured in relation to the height above a local benchmark. In some locations, river levels are listed in feet above sea level.

You can find info on river levels in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota here. Here’s how the linked map looked Saturday morning:

Here’s the hydrograph of recent, current and forecast levels for the Mississippi River at St. Paul:

The Mississippi River has reached major flood stage at St. Paul and it’s expected to rise another 1.6 feet between now and Friday, reaching 18.8 feet.

Here are the results of various river levels at the St. Paul gauge:

Here’s a pic of the Mississippi River floodwaters covering portions of Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul Saturday morning:

Here’s the area around the Clarence Wigington Pavilion at Harriet Island Regional Park on Saturday:

The screen grabs were from St. Paul’s Mississippi River Camera page, which rotates among several different views of the river.

Here’s the hydrograph of recent, current and forecast levels for the St. Croix River at Stillwater, Minnesota:

The St. Croix River is expected to reach major flood stage of 89 feet at Stillwater today then rise another 7/10ths of a foot by Tuesday.

Here are the results of various river levels at the Stillwater gauge:

Here are the historic St. Croix River crests at the Stillwater gauge:

Here’s the hydrograph of recent, current and forecast levels for the Red River at Fargo, North Dakota:

The Red River at Fargo expected to reach major flood stage of 30 feet today and then rise another foot by Monday.

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.