ST PAUL, Minnesota — After weeks of waiting and watching, river levels are starting to crest in Minnesota.
The Crow River crested just around 20 feet on Monday in Delano. Forecasters say this is 3 feet shy of an all-time record.
The National Weather Service flood forecast shows the St. Croix River is at its crest in Stillwater and will stay around 89 feet for a week. The Mississippi River is expected to crest Friday in St. Paul around 19 feet.
"It'll be quite a long time for this wave to work its way down but that's a long way to go and a lot of water to get rid of," NWS hydrologist Craig Schmidt said.
Schmidt says while the dry soil leading into winter has helped flooding by absorbing more water this spring, the Mississippi is still at major flood levels stretching from St. Paul down to St. Louis. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers began closing locks in central and southern Minnesota. They are still closed.
"It is really affecting stuff like barge traffic and navigation — all of that. They are basically having to sit idle," Schmidt said.
He thinks the investments the state and local communities have made in flood mitigation have prevented catastrophic damage this month.
"Twenty to 30 years of flood mitigation efforts people have done," Schmidt said, "it's paid off."
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