Thursday April 2nd, 2009
* Flood warnings continue for Minnesota, Mississippi and Sauk Rivers.
* Scattered clouds early giving way to much needed "cool" sunshine
* Weekend storm should track south of St. Cloud, just brushing central MN with clouds and a light "nuisance" snowfall.
This afternoon: Brighter, but cool! Snow melt begins - sloppy/slushy side roads. Winds: West 10-15, not as breezy. High: 42
Tonight: Partial clearing, patchy ground fog possible. Low: 23
Friday: Sun begins to fade late in the day. Winds: north, 5-10. High: 44
Saturday: Mostly cloudy, slight chance of light snow/flurries late (mainly south of St. Cloud). High: 41
Sunday: snow showers early, lingering flurries later. High: 39
Monday: Flurries early. Overall, more sun with hints of spring in the air. High: 40
Tuesday: Plenty of sun. High: 45
Wednesday: More sunshine - keep it coming! High: Nearing 50?
"Sunshine!"
I thought this was kind of neat - Take a look at the picture above. This is an image captured by a satellite nearly 22,500 MILES above the earth's surface! This image was captured around noon on Thursday - around the time when most of central and southern Minnesota had mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. You can actually see where the snow was deposited or the footprint from this week's storm. Neat, huh?! I've added a yellow line to help describe where the rain/snow line occurred. This rain/snow line is, often, very difficult to forecast and plays a big role in where the heaviest of the snow falls. On the warmer (southeast) side of the storm, there will be a rain/sleet/slushy snow mix falling and, literally, within a matter of miles, there can be heavy snow falling (at the rate of 1" to 2" per hour) on the colder (northwest) side of the storm. In this case, the rain/snow line set up just east of St. Cloud, putting St. Cloud in the snow producing side of the storm!
A few headlines from the 'late' season storm:
Daily snowfall records were set on March 31st and April 1st!
New Record: March 31st, 2009 - 6.3"
Old Record: March 31st, 2008 - 5.0"
New Record: April 1st, 2009 - 2.9"
Old Record: April 1st, 1914 - 2.0"
Not only that, but this storm sent March 2009 into record territory as the wettest March on record for St. Cloud with 4.66". The old record for March was 4.53" set in 1897!
How about one more record?
This is straight from the National Weather Service:
IN ADDITION...THE JANUARY...FEBRUARY...AND MARCH 3-MONTH PERIOD
IN 2009 RANKS NUMBER 3 AS THE WETTEST JANUARY THROUGH MARCH PERIOD.
THE ACCUMULATED PRECIPITATION FOR THIS PERIOD WAS 6.00 INCHES.
THE WETTEST PERIOD ON RECORD WAS SET IN 1897 WITH 8.68 INCHES...WHILE
SET THE SECOND WETTEST JANUARY THROUGH MARCH 3-MONTH PERIOD
WAS SET IN 1922 WITH 6.21 INCHES.
With all of the recent moisture, we've been dealing with flooding concerns across much of the state, here's the lastest:
MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT ST CLOUD SCSU AFFECTING BENTON...SHERBURNE
AND STEARNS COUNTIES
SAUK RIVER AT ST CLOUD AFFECTING STEARNS COUNTY
ONE POINT OF CONCERN...MAINLY FOR THE MISSISSIPPI NORTH OF SAINT
CLOUD... IS THE THREAT OF ICE JAMS. SEVERAL REPORTS OF ICE JAMS AND
QUICK RISES HAVE BEEN RECEIVED OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. THE MAIN
POCKET OF ICE WAS LAST REPORTED ON THE ZEBULON PIKE RESERVOIR. AT
THIS TIME...ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THIS ICE WILL SLOWLY MOVE
DOWNSTREAM AND PASS THROUGH BLANCHARD DAM. HOWEVER INDIVIDUALS WITH
INTERESTS ALONG THE RIVER SOUTH TO SAINT CLOUD ARE ENCOURAGED TO
REMAIN AWARE FOR ANY RAPIDLY CHANGING RIVER LEVELS. WHILE IMPACTS
ARE OF ICE ARE DIFFICULT TO FORECAST...THE FORECAST FOR THE
MISSISSIPPI AT SAINT CLOUD TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE
FLUCTUATIONS DUE TO THE ICE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT ST CLOUD SCSU.
* UNTIL FRIDAY AFTERNOON...OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 7:30 AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 8.8 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST MAINLY DUE TO IMPACT OF THE ICE AS IT
MOVES DOWNSTREAM.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 9.0 FEET.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 8.2 FEET
ON JUN 14 2005
THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE SAUK RIVER AT ST CLOUD.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE...OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 6:00 AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 7.7 FEET.
* MODERATE FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 6.0 FEET.
* FORECAST...THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING TO NEAR 7.8 FEET BY
TOMORROW EVENING. ADDITIONAL RISES MAY BE POSSIBLE THEREAFTER.
* IMPACT...AT 6.0 FEET...TWO HOMES ALONG THE RIVER MAY EXPERIENCE
FLOODING.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 7.2 FEET
ON APR 25 2001.
The active pattern continues - another storm system is wrapping up over the Rockies today. The threat of a "nuisance" snow slides in by Sunday. However, the heaviest appears to stay just south of the St. Cloud metro. Traveling to southern Minnesota or northern Iowa? Stay up to date with the latest forecast, I think we'll see some winter weather headlines being posted soon for late weekend. We'll keep you up to date here on www.sctimes.com
I hope your are enjoying the local St. Cloud weather forecasts from our team of talented meteorologist at WeatherNation. I encourage to you check back daily and often as we are continually updating the local and regional weathercasts. You can also check the weather blog for weather musings/ramblings and other jargon... We'll be here and hang in there, spring IS right around the corner... I promise!
AND STEARNS COUNTIES
SAUK RIVER AT ST CLOUD AFFECTING STEARNS COUNTY
ONE POINT OF CONCERN...MAINLY FOR THE MISSISSIPPI NORTH OF SAINT
CLOUD... IS THE THREAT OF ICE JAMS. SEVERAL REPORTS OF ICE JAMS AND
QUICK RISES HAVE BEEN RECEIVED OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. THE MAIN
POCKET OF ICE WAS LAST REPORTED ON THE ZEBULON PIKE RESERVOIR. AT
THIS TIME...ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THIS ICE WILL SLOWLY MOVE
DOWNSTREAM AND PASS THROUGH BLANCHARD DAM. HOWEVER INDIVIDUALS WITH
INTERESTS ALONG THE RIVER SOUTH TO SAINT CLOUD ARE ENCOURAGED TO
REMAIN AWARE FOR ANY RAPIDLY CHANGING RIVER LEVELS. WHILE IMPACTS
ARE OF ICE ARE DIFFICULT TO FORECAST...THE FORECAST FOR THE
MISSISSIPPI AT SAINT CLOUD TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE
FLUCTUATIONS DUE TO THE ICE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT ST CLOUD SCSU.
* UNTIL FRIDAY AFTERNOON...OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 7:30 AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 8.8 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST MAINLY DUE TO IMPACT OF THE ICE AS IT
MOVES DOWNSTREAM.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 9.0 FEET.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 8.2 FEET
ON JUN 14 2005
THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
THE SAUK RIVER AT ST CLOUD.
* UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE...OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED.
* AT 6:00 AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 7.7 FEET.
* MODERATE FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 6.0 FEET.
* FORECAST...THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING TO NEAR 7.8 FEET BY
TOMORROW EVENING. ADDITIONAL RISES MAY BE POSSIBLE THEREAFTER.
* IMPACT...AT 6.0 FEET...TWO HOMES ALONG THE RIVER MAY EXPERIENCE
FLOODING.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 7.2 FEET
ON APR 25 2001.
The active pattern continues - another storm system is wrapping up over the Rockies today. The threat of a "nuisance" snow slides in by Sunday. However, the heaviest appears to stay just south of the St. Cloud metro. Traveling to southern Minnesota or northern Iowa? Stay up to date with the latest forecast, I think we'll see some winter weather headlines being posted soon for late weekend. We'll keep you up to date here on www.sctimes.com
I hope your are enjoying the local St. Cloud weather forecasts from our team of talented meteorologist at WeatherNation. I encourage to you check back daily and often as we are continually updating the local and regional weathercasts. You can also check the weather blog for weather musings/ramblings and other jargon... We'll be here and hang in there, spring IS right around the corner... I promise!
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