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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Rapid snowmelt triggers some flooding

Updated flood outlooks come out Thursday

Disappearing snow at the Huttner Weather Lab in Carver County.
Disappearing snow at the Huttner Weather Lab in Carver County.
Paul Huttner | MPR News

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Our brief taste of April last weekend decimated snow cover across southern Minnesota. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reports no snow on the ground on Monday. That’s down from 9 inches 18 days ago. Most of southern Minnesota is now snow-free except for a few piles here and there.

Snow depth
Snow depth Monday
NOAA/NOHRSC

Most of that water from snowmelt runs off over already saturated and still frozen ground. Most of the runoff eventually ends up in our lakes and rivers. We’re already seeing flooding in the usual areas like the Minnesota River near Henderson, Minn.

New flood forecasts this week

Flood forecasters at the North Central River Forecast Center in Chanhassen will recalibrate this week and issue new spring flood outlooks Thursday. Rivers are running high, and the ground is saturated from the wettest year on record for parts of Minnesota last year.

There’s probably some good news in the snowmelt, followed by cooler temperatures this week. Nights below freezing again will slow down runoff in areas that still have snow cover.

Stay tuned to see how the river outlooks will change Thursday.