GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- All the water that flooded the Duluth area hasn't made it to the Twin Cities... And it won't.

The numerous lakes and marshes of northern Minnesota are holding a lot of the water in place.

Another large section of the total rainfall made it's way to Lake Superior either directly, or through its many tributary rivers.

National Weather Service Hydrologist, Diane Cooper estimates about half of the water will actually reach the metro via the Mississippi and the Saint Croix Rivers, "The river is not as wide in the Upper Mississippi, and it's not as deep so it doesn't have as much capacity to hold water. But by the time you get down to Saint Paul especially, our river is really wide it's pretty deep. A lot of times, our floods are coming out of the Minnesota system, so we just have a lot more capacity."

Even though river levels are forecast to rise another 6 inches or so, they should remain well below flood stage throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul as they crest midweek. The green dots on this map show water levels below flood stage. Yellow levels are at or near minor flood stage. Heading north, Aitkin, Brainerd and Cloquet are still within moderate to major flood stage, with river levels yet to crest.

While the northern Minnesota lakes should hold their high water status through the summer, river levels are forecast to recede to normal levels within the next couple weeks, provided we avoid additional extreme rainfall events.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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