MINNEAPOLIS - Flooded intersections are popping up across the Twin Cities metro this week.
The recent warmup has melted a large amount snow in our area, but thanks to frozen pipes, the water has nowhere to go.
"The pipes are frozen and it won't let the storm system drain like it was designed to do," Minneapolis Sewer Maintenance Supervisor Sean Oberg says.
Saturday afternoon Oberg and his crew responded to nearly two dozen calls of frozen pipes. Some of the calls were quick and easy.
"This one here only took us about five minutes, because it was only frozen on top," Oberg says while pointing to a recently thawed sewer drain.
However, other calls, the like the one Oberg and his crew responded to near the corner of 45th Avenue and Knox Avenue, took several hours to clear.
"It's frozen solid," Oberg explains. "Underground it's completely frozen in the pipe."
Frozen pipes are common here in Minnesota, but this year it's happening more frequently than in years past.
"We did have a number of below zero days this year and we haven't had that in the last couple of winters," Oberg explains.
Plus, the timing of this recent thaw isn't ideal either.
A winter storm is expected to move in Sunday, dropping a mix of rain and snow throughout the entire Twin Cities metro this week.
The majority of that precipitation is expected to come in on Monday, which gives city crews another day to clear as many storm drains as they can.
"We will have crews on standby ready to respond," Oberg says.
Crews in Saint Paul are also being proactive before the storm.
City officials say their crews have already handled close to 200 calls of frozen pipes and they expect to see a few more on Sunday before the storm moves in.
Oberg says he's not too worried about flooding, because crews have been so proactive this week.
However, he's encouraging residents to report flooded intersections as soon as they emerge.
"We have over 55,000 catch basins in the city and we can't get to all of them at once," Oberg explains