A cold and windy Sunday; rain chances highest in northern Minn., some snow northwest

I know, you’d like sunshine and mild temps today.

That’s not happening, due to a pesky low pressure system that’s moving through northern Minnesota. That low has spun clouds across most of Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin.

Most of the northern half of Minnesota and parts of northwestern Wisconsin can expect periods of rain this Sunday. Portions of northwestern Minnesota will see a rain/snow mix that changes to all snow. The Twin Cities metro area and west central Wisconsin might see a few passing sprinkles at times.

The Sunday snow forecast for eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota looks like this:

A winter weather advisory includes Kittson County and western portions of Polk and Marshall counties of far northwestern Minnesota until 7 p.m.:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 957 AM CDT Sun Apr 24 2022 MNZ001-004-007-NDZ027-029-030-250000- /O.EXA.KFGF.WW.Y.0036.000000T0000Z-220425T0000Z/ West Polk-Kittson-West Marshall-Grand Forks-Steele-Traill- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Grand Forks, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, and Portland 957 AM CDT Sun Apr 24 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation changing to all snow. Additional snow accumulations of up to two inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of northwest Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN...Until 7 PM CDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Strong winds could cause extensive damage to trees and power lines.

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.

Flood warnings northwestern Minnesota

Parts of northwestern Minnesota saw 2 to 4 inches of rain in the past couple of days:

That rain, combined with snow melt, has caused extensive flooding in the portions of northwestern Minnesota that are shaded green on the following map:

Here are details of the flood warning:

National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 609 PM CDT Sat Apr 23 2022 MNC007-029-087-107-113-119-125-NDC097-242315- /O.NEW.KFGF.FA.W.0008.220423T2309Z-220424T2315Z/ /00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/ Beltrami MN-Clearwater MN-Mahnomen MN-Norman MN-Pennington MN-Polk MN-Red Lake MN-Traill ND- 609 PM CDT Sat Apr 23 2022 ...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 615 PM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected. * 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 615 PM CDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Numerous roads remain closed due to flooding. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 609 PM CDT, emergency management reported multiple road closures due to ongoing overland flooding. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain have fallen. - 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. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding.

The flood warning may have to be extended in some areas. You can get flood updates here.

Red River levels are rising

Water levels along portions of the Red River are forecast to rise dramatically in the next few days. 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 River at Oslo, Minnesota is at moderate flood stage Sunday morning, but the Red River is forecast to reach major flood stage at Oslo Monday evening and the river could approach a record level for the Oslo gauge on Thursday:

The Red River at Grand Forks is forecast to reach moderate flood stage today and then major flood stage on Monday, with a peak level on Wednesday.

Temperature trends

Much of Minnesota will have Sunday highs in the 40s. Some spots in the Twin Cities, southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin will top 50.

Low temps late Sunday night/early Monday morning will be in the 20s in many areas, with 30s from the metro area into southeastern Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin:

Monday highs will range from 30s north to lower 40s in the far south:

Low temps early Tuesday morning will be mainly in the 20s, with teens in far northern Minnesota:

Tuesday highs will be mainly in the 40s, with 30s in far northern Minnesota and lower 50s in parts of the southwest:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper 40s Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by mid 50s Thursday and upper 50s on Friday. It looks like our best shower chances will be Wednesday night and Thursday, then late on Friday.

Weather nugget

Despite a high of 74 on Saturday, our average Twin Cities temp this April is running 5.2 degrees below normal. Rainfall at MSP airport is .81 of an inch above normal so far this month.

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.