Chillier on Saturday; no soaking rains in the forecast

River flooding and overland flooding due to snowmelt have caused several road closures in Minnesota.

Don't even think about driving around the closure barriers. Here's a cautionary tale from Lac qui Parle County in western Minnesota Thursday:

https://twitter.com/CathyWurzer/status/1111565988078804992

Just 12 inches of moving water can carry away a small car:

Rain/snow chances

Most of Minnesota hasn't seen significant rain or snow in the past two weeks. The dry spell is welcome, as many rivers are at moderate or major flood stage.

Northern Minnesota could see some scattered rain and snow showers Friday afternoon into Friday night. The showers are expected to break up a bit as they move into central Minnesota Friday evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Friday afternoon through Friday night:

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Minnesota could also see some rain/snow showers late Sunday and Sunday night.

Some rain showers will be possible across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin next Wednesday and Thursday.

Temperature trends

Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will see highs in the 40s Friday afternoon. The metro area should top out in the upper 40s. Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 48 degrees this time of year.

Saturday will be breezy, with highs in the 30s in most spots:

The Twin Cities metro area could touch 40 degrees.

Sunday highs will reach the 30s in the north, with mostly 40s central and south:

Some spots in the southwest could reach the lower 50s.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach around 50 on Monday, followed by mid-50s next Tuesday through Thursday.

Flooding updates

Many locations along our Minnesota rivers remain at major or moderate flood stage. There are numerous flood warnings in effect. You can get flood warning updates by clicking on any location on the National Weather Service Twin Cities website. Areas with flood warnings are shaded green on the NWS main page; here’s how the map looked Friday morning:

The latest flood warnings and flood outlooks for northwestern Minnesota can be found on the NWS Grand Forks, N.D. site.

Here's how their page looked Friday morning:

The Mississippi River at St. Paul remains at major flood stage this Friday morning.

Here’s the NWS summary for that location, which was issued Thursday evening:

825 PM CDT Thu Mar 28 2019

The Flood Warning continues for

The Mississippi River at St. Paul.

* until further notice.

* At 7:00 PM Thursday the stage was 19.0 feet.

* Major flooding is occurring and Major flooding is forecast.

* Flood stage is 14.0 feet.

* Forecast...The river will continue rising to near 20.0 feet by

Monday morning then begin falling.

* Impact...At 18.0 feet...Warner Road may become impassable due to

high water.

* Impact...At 17.5 feet...Harriet Island begins to become submerged.

* Impact...At 14.0 feet...Portions of the Lilydale park area begin to

experience flooding.

* Impact...At 13.3 feet...Water begins to encroach on Water St.

You can check for an updated flood statement here.

You can click on any location on the NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service  (AHPS) site to get hydrographs of recent and forecast river levels. Some locations list levels in feet above sea level, others list levels in feet above a local reference point.

Here’s the Friday morning hydrograph for the Mississippi River at St. Paul:

The 20 foot level on Monday would be the eighth highest Mississippi River level ever recorded at the St. Paul gauge:

Here’s a Friday morning look at the flooding at Harriet Island in St. Paul:

Parts of Raspberry Island are under water:

The pavilion on Harriet Island is surrounded by water:

Here’s how that same area looked Saturday morning:

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

And the Friday morning hydrograph for the Mississippi River at Hastings, which is at major flood stage:

Projected river levels are updated on a regular basis, so check back to the AHPS site and the NWS point forecasts for the latest info on the rivers near you. The NWS also posts some flooding details here.

If you’d like to scroll through hydrographs along a certain river, check here.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.