MINNEAPOLIS — Last weekend's warm weather and Tuesday's rain helped to wipe out a lot of snow across Minnesota, officially signaling the state's annual spring thaw.
Minnesotans are starting to take bets on how long it will take to melt the large snow pile in the parking lot, but with all this extra water, should we be worried about flooding?
KARE 11 forecaster Guy Brown says the risk of flooding is minimal in most parts of the state, and this year's spring thaw is going perfectly so far.
“The majority of the state, southern Minnesota, and of course the metro, we’re looking pretty good with a minor risk,” Brown says.
"We got rid of this snow fairly quickly. We did a lot of damage with that snow melt in like a week."
Public works crews have been working hard in recent weeks to thaw out drainage systems, and Brown says that work is helping a lot right now. The early prep allows water to flow nicely through the system.
He says although we may see some very minor street flooding or pooling water in some low lying areas, he doesn’t expect to see any major problems in the Twin Cities.
Brown added that river levels are also looking good right now, but there is one area he is concerned about: the Red River Valley.
"That's really where we're seeing a high risk for some flooding, especially along the state line with North Dakota and Minnesota — just because of the late precipitation we saw,” Brown said.
He says the Red River Valley has seen a lot of rain and snow in recent weeks and the ground is already saturated, so the extra moisture won't be able to sink in.
He's watching that area closely, but he’s also watching the situation here in the Twin Cities. He says it would only take a few rain showers for things to change fairly quickly.
"You know, you can get into these patterns where you're below average and then you just get dumped on. That can change things. I think it's just monitoring things for now and seeing how things play out in the coming days,” Brown says.
"At least we know for now the snow is pretty much gone."
If your home or business is prone to flooding, now would be a great time to do a quick walk around to see how things are melting.
It also wouldn't hurt to check your gutters and drainage systems to make sure rain water isn't pooling up around your home.
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