Oh No! Minnesota Town Prepares For Historic Flooding
As of today, Duluth is in the record books for the 6th snowiest winter on record and of course, that number can climb since mother nature seems to think winter needs to hang around even longer even though the calendar says it is officially spring. Where is all this snow going to go if we get a quick jump in temperatures and things start to melt very quickly?
The Northland is no stranger to flooding especially when the winds whip up Lake Superior, but thankfully the shoreline at least in Canal Park has been reinforced, but for residents of Park Point that is a whole different matter.
One Minnesota town is already in the grips of preparing for flooding not seen in the last 20 years, and that is Stillwater, Minnesota. Officials released a statement saying "In preparation for spring flooding of the St. Croix River, Parking lots and trails along Lowell Park in Stillwater will be closed beginning March 22." The city has not seen water levels this high since 2001.
Bring Me The News reports that for the Stillwater area The National Weather Service "had previously predicted water levels to cause major flooding. Water levels as of Wednesday stand at 75.79 feet. "Take Action" level is 80." The Stillwater City Council declared a state of Emergency today. Workers are busy building barriers to hold sandbags in place until a temporary dike can be built.
According to Meteorologist Paul Majors, what are the chances for significant flooding in the Northland? The Duluth office of The National Weather Service released a Spring Flood Outlook on March 9 2023 and said the following: "The spring flooding potential across the Northland is above normal. One positive: all that snow has acted as an insulator, limiting ground frost, so more of the melting snow will be able to soak into the ground vs. running off into streets and streams."
One thing is for sure if you have a sump pump in your basement, now is the time to make sure it is working properly before all this melts and you have tons of water coming through the pipes that need to be pumped out.