St. Cloud Not at Significant Risk of Spring Flooding

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- St. Cloud is in its 4th snowiest season on record and it has officials keeping an eye on the rivers and streams ahead of any spring flooding.

Stearns County Emergency Management Director Erin Tufte says the hope is a slow snow melt with highs in the 50s and lows at night falling below freezing.

Right now, Tufte says the National Weather Service has the Mississippi River at 90% chance of minor flooding and a 30% chance of major flooding...

Where we see pretty high water levels, we see most of that impact by the St. Cloud State area going over the dam. As it relates to the Mississippi specifically in St. Cloud, we don't have a lot of concern. There might be some flooding down on 5th Avenue, up near the hospital and Cathedral. But, where we see the most impact from the high Mississippi is things backing up like the Sauk River and Watab. I mean, even as far north as Little Rock Lake.

Some areas where the Mississippi may overflow its banks are at the mouth of the Sauk River, by Cathedral High School, and by Munsinger Gardens.

Tufte says as of now, there isn't a high concern of flooding on the Sauk River, but she admits conditions can change quickly depending on the circumstances...

So the Sauk River, right now, does not have a significant flood risk coming into the spring partly because we were dry coming into the fall last year. We have some room to absorb that moisture. We start in Sauk Lake up in Sauk Centre and we kind of snake our way through the entire county. The nice part is we have a lot of people who are very good at paying attention to what's happening, so we have early warning.

For more resources on flooding, visit the Stearns County website.

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