Star Tribune
How bad will spring flooding be in Minnesota? Five key questions answered — and a silver lining
Rivers will rise across Minnesota next week as the snowpack piled up from one of the state’s snowiest winters begins to melt in force.
By Tuesday, temperatures are expected to climb into the 70s in parts of the state. The warm-up, so soon after a late winter storm dumped more than a foot of heavy, wet snow, raises the likelihood of flooding in cities along just about every major river in Minnesota.
St. Paul preemptively declared an emergency as it plans for road and park closures along the Mississippi River; Stillwater has built a wall of sand that’s 2,000 feet long and 6 feet high to keep its downtown safe from the St. Croix River; and Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks and other cities in the Red River Valley have started to plan sandbagging operations.
Here are some things to keep in mind about the flood risk this spring.
Why is the risk so high?
The short answer: snow.
This was one of the state’s 10 snowiest winters on record, with high amounts of it in every river basin. The snow was particularly wet, too, holding an usual amount of moisture, especially in northern Minnesota. The cold spring kept it on the ground longer than normal, raising the risk that it would melt all at once.
The predicted warmup on Tuesday will hit the entire state at the same time, sending water into every river basin, said Craig Schmidt, hydrologist with the National Weather Service. That makes the risk particularly high in the state’s biggest rivers, as more and more water from high tributaries feeds into them.
When is flooding expected to start?
The Weather Service still expects most rivers to crest in mid-April, but that could change depending on rainfall. The warm weather next week could also speed things up, Schmidt said. Smaller rivers will likely hit their peak as soon as the end of the week, while larger ones, such as the Mississippi River in the St. Paul area, may keep rising until late in the month.
What should we watch for?
Rain. Rivers will almost certainly be high, but adding any more precipitation over the next two weeks will compound the problem.
“We know we’re going to have warm temperatures and we know we’re going to have snowmelt that will put us in this flood threat,” Schmidt said. “What would make it a really really bad flood would be adding rain to it at the wrong time.”
The Weather Service expects skies across the state to be mostly clear over the next week, with chances of rain Wednesday in Duluth, Thursday in Minneapolis and Friday in Fargo.
Is anything working in our favor?
One of the few positives of the drought that lingered in Minnesota over the past two years is that most of the state has dry, thirsty soil ready to soak up quite a lot of water.
The heavy snowpack also kept the ground insulated from freezing temperatures. That’s important because if the soil is frozen, it can’t accept water. The thawed dry ground could help alleviate some of the worst of the flooding.
Is there a silver lining to this?
For the first time in two years, no parts of Minnesota are in severe drought. All the snow and water that’s been raising the risk of floods has essentially erased one of the state’s driest spells since the 1980s. The much-needed water will help alleviate stressed aquifers and trees, lakes and trout streams across the state.
The Lynx are in the hot seat.
The team lost Game 3 of the WNBA Finals series against the New York Liberty on Wednesday night 77-80, setting the stage for a decisive match at Target Center on Friday night. Fans in the arena reacted with resounding disappointment after Sabrina Ionescu sunk a three-pointer to break away from the tie game and dashed the Lynx’s chance at forcing overtime.
Before we get to the reactions, first things first: The Lynx set an attendance record, filling Target Center with 19,521 spectators for the first time in franchise history. That’s nearly 500 more than when Caitlin Clark was in town with the Indiana Fever earlier this year.
Despite leading by double digits for much of the game, the Lynx began the fourth quarter with a one-point lead over the Liberty and struggled to stay more than two or three points ahead throughout.
The Liberty took the lead with minutes to go in the fourth quarter and folks were practically despondent.
Of course, there were people who were in it solely for the spectacle. Nothing more.
The Lynx took a commanding lead early in the first quarter and ended the first half in winning position, setting a particularly jovial mood among the fanbase to start the game.
Inside Target Center, arena announcers spent a few minutes before the game harassing Lynx fans — and Liberty fans — who had not yet donned the complementary T-shirts draped over every seat.
DULUTH – The Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation departments will make upgrades to the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge in the summer of 2025, in preparation for the structure to become the premiere route between this city and Superior during reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge.
Built in 1961, the Blatnik Bridge carries 33,000 vehicles per day along Interstate 535 and Hwy. 53. It will be entirely rebuilt, starting in 2027, with the help of $1 billion in federal funding announced earlier this year. MnDOT and WisDOT are splitting the remaining costs of the project, about $4 million each.
According to MnDOT, projects on the Bong Bridge will include spot painting, concrete surface repairs to the bridge abutments, concrete sealer on the deck, replacing rubber strip seal membranes on the main span’s joints and replacing light poles on the bridge and its points of entry. It’s expected to take two months, transportation officials said during a recent meeting at the Superior Public Library.
During this time there will be occasional lane closures, detours at the off-ramps, and for about three weeks the sidewalk path alongside the bridge will be closed.
The Bong Bridge, which crosses the St. Louis River, opened to traffic in 1985 and is the lesser-used of the two bridges. Officials said they want to keep maintenance to a minimum on the span during the Blatnik project, which is expected to take four years.
Red Wing will celebrate the grand opening of its first permanent set of pickleball courts next week with an “inaugural play” on the six courts at Colvill Park on the banks of the Mississippi, between a couple of marinas and next to the aquatic center.
Among the first to get to play on the new courts will be David Anderson, who brought pickleball to the local YMCA in 2008, before the nationwide pickleball craze took hold, and Denny Yecke, at 92 the oldest pickleball player in Red Wing.
The inaugural play begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday, with a rain date of the next day. Afterward will be food and celebration at the Colvill Park Courtyard building.
Tim Sletten, the city’s former police chief, discovered America’s fastest-growing sport a decade ago after he retired. With fellow members of the Red Wing Pickleball Group, he’d play indoors at the local YMCA or outdoors at a local school, on courts made for other sports. But they didn’t have a permanent place, so they approached the city about building one.
When a city feasibility study came up with a high cost, about $350,000, Sletten’s group got together to raise money.
The courts are even opening ahead of schedule, originally set for 2025.
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