Cool & windy Sunday, with showers at times; could hit 70 Wed.; Update on river levels

We’re ending April on a chilly note, but warmer temps are expected in a couple of days.

Temperature trends

Sunday highs will be in the 50s in most of western Minnesota, with a lot of 40s in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

Parts of the Twin Cities metro area could touch 50 degrees late Sunday afternoon. That’s chilly, the average April 30 Twin Cities high temp is 63 degrees.

Monday highs will be in the 50s across most of Minnesota, with some 40s in northeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 60 degrees on Tuesday, followed by upper 60s to around 70 on Wednesday and Thursday and then mid 60s on Friday.

Rain and flake chances

Most of western Minnesota will have a dry Sunday afternoon, along with some sunshine.

Eastern Minnesota and much of Wisconsin will have a lot of clouds into Sunday afternoon and evening, as moisture continues to rotate around a low pressure system that’s parked over the Great Lakes.

• The Twin Cities metro area, southeastern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin could see scattered showers at times into Sunday afternoon and evening. A few flakes could mix with the rain showers at times in west-central Wisconsin.

• There’ll be a mix of rain and snow in northeastern Minnesota today, with generally one inch or less of additional snow. Some of the higher elevations near Lake Superior could see a bit more snow than that.

• It’ll be mainly snow in the northwestern corner of Wisconsin this morning, then a transition to a rain/snow mix is expected to happen during Sunday afternoon.

A winter weather advisory continues until 1 p.m. Sunday for Douglas and Bayfield counties of northwestern Wisconsin.  

Steady snow continues in north-central Wisconsin, where a winter storm warning continues today through Monday morning in Ashland and Iron Counties:

Some spots in north-central Wisconsin will see double digit snow totals:

There’s a wind advisory today through Monday along and near the North Shore of Lake Superior and down through Carlton County.

There’s also a wind advisory today and early Sunday evening for most of western Minnesota and far southern Minnesota:

Here are details of the wind advisory, from the National Weather Service:

1013 AM CDT Sun Apr 30 2023 ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Northwest winds 25 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. * WHERE...Portions of central, south central, southwest and west central Minnesota. * WHEN...Until 8 PM CDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.

Wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible in the Twin Cities metro area.

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

The NWS Duluth office and NWS Twin Cities office will have forecast updates as needed.

River levels

Rivers remain at flood stage in many parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with rivers still at moderate flood stage at several locations.

Rivers have already crested in many spots, and those rivers will tend to lower over the next several days.

You can check the river levels at various locations in northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin here. This is how the linked map looked Sunday morning:

You can find info on river levels elsewhere in Minnesota and western Wisconsin here.
This is how the linked map looked Sunday 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 Sunday morning:

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

The Mississippi River crested at major flood stage of 18.24 feet at the St. Paul gauge Wednesday morning, and it has now dropped to moderate flood stage. It’s expected to lower to minor flood stage by Wednesday and then continue to lower into next weekend.

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

Here’s the area around the Clarence Wigington Pavilion at Harriet Island Regional Park Sunday morning:

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

The Mississippi River is at moderate flood stage at Hastings and Red Wing.

Here’s the hydrograph for the St. Croix River at Stillwater:

The St. Croix River crested at 89.26 feet on Monday, which was at major flood stage. It’s now at minor flood stage and it will continue to lower over the next several days.

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, N.D.:

The Red River at Fargo crested just below major flood stage on Saturday, April 22 and it’s now at minor flood stage and it will continue to fall in the coming days.

Weather nugget

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 64 degrees on May 1, 75 degrees on June 1 and 83 degrees on July 1.

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.