Warming into spring this week; river flooding likely to increase by weekend

Here are your Monday morning weather headlines:

• Nearly all of this week will be precipitation-free

• Temperatures will be progressively milder beginning on Tuesday

• River flooding will become more widespread by the weekend due to melting snow

We'll start off the week with a quiet Monday. The only weather alert in place for Minnesota is a dense fog advisory until 11 a.m. for parts of northwestern Minnesota. Visibilities are likely to drop to less than a quarter of a mile at times Monday morning from Leech Lake to Fergus Falls, Detroit Lakes, Thief River Falls and Hallock.

High temperatures Monday afternoon should be mainly in the mid to upper 30s. Some lucky spots might touch 40.

I'll forecast a high of near 39 for the Twin Cities with a light west wind. Our average high for Monday would be 42.

Some light rain or snow is possible in northwestern Minnesota on Monday as a weak atmospheric wave passes through.

Really feeling like spring later this week

Temperatures should warm to about or even above seasonal norms on Tuesday as the milder weather arrives.

Then spring will really kick into gear and wear down the snow piles as the warming trend continues into the weekend.

Here is a look at the temperature outlook for areas in and around the Twin Cities. Note the low 50s expected beginning on Thursday. Mid- to maybe upper-50s are likely on Saturday.

As noted above, this week will lack any meaningful precipitation at least into the weekend.

Some models are forecasting a bit of rain from Saturday night into Sunday, but the spread among models means that precipitation probabilities remain low at this early date.

Flooding potential will increase

While it will be a welcome sight to see our mounds of snow shrink and some grass appear, that process will lead to more flooding.

Even without additional snow or rain, the threat of river flooding will increase toward the weekend as warmer temperatures by day and night increase the rate of snowmelt onto our frozen ground.

Below is one look at the potential for significant river flooding through Saturday. The red color indicates that significant river flooding either is already occurring or is forecast to occur during the Monday-Saturday time period. The orange color that covers most of southern Minnesota indicates that significant river flooding is likely.