Green With Envy

Don't worry... the excess green you're seeing today isn't a some strange sickness you've come down with in the past 24 hours, though, don't be surprised if you feel a little ill after eating too many of those chocolate covered coins in your co-workers candy dish. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Take a look at the image below from downtown Chicago. A toxic spill? No. They dyed the Chicago River green for the holiday!

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

I guess we can't really complain about the weather as of late, March temperatures are running nearly 10 degrees above average and we haven't had a flake of snow in a month where we average 10.4 inches. To be honest, I'm surprised that we've had it this easy. Aren't we supposed to have a sloppy slushy 'wet' storm during the tournaments? What's going on here?

First of all, our rain event from last week could have given us some accumulating snow, but it was just too warm. Secondly, the storm track has been south of us, keeping potential moisture well away from your backyard. It appears our next system on Friday will have some cooler air accompanying it, so a rain/snow mix of possible, but as of now, most of the moisture will be across southern Minnesota.


Barbecue Alert
Tonight may be a good night to fire up that barbecue for the first time this season. It'll be quiet and quite mild through supper time. I predict that you'll be green with envy if you don't. Your neighbor will likely have the old Weber smoking next door and you'll wonder "What's for dinner"


Flood Concerns Continue
The National Weather Services 'Storm Report' from yesterday shows a rescue of a person and three dogs from a residence after a rapid surge of water from an ice jam in Motley (Morrison county). The other flood reports show road closures in Watertown and New Germany in Carver county.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
559 PM CDT TUE MAR 16 2010

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
     ..REMARKS..

0330 PM     FLASH FLOOD      3 ESE MOTLEY            46.32N 94.59W
03/16/2010                   MORRISON           MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

     ONE PERSON AND THREE DOGS WERE RESCUED FROM A RESIDENCE
     DUE TO A RAPID SURGE OF WATER CAUSED BY A DOWNSTREAM ICE
     JAM.

0500 PM     FLOOD            WATERTOWN               44.96N 93.85W
03/16/2010                   CARVER             MN   EMERGENCY MNGR

     MILL AVENUE CLOSED AT THE 400 BLOCK. COUNTY ROAD 123
     BETWEEN HWY 7 AND COUNTY RD 122 ALSO CLOSED IN WATERTOWN
     TOWNSHIP.

0500 PM     FLOOD            NEW GERMANY             44.88N 93.97W
03/16/2010                   CARVER             MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

     ROAD CLOSURES AT CTY RD 30 BETWEEN CTY RD 33 AND THE
     COUNTY LINE...YANCY AVE BETWEEN 78TH ST AND CTY RD
     30...82ND ST BETWEEN CTY RD 32 AND UNION AVE...62ND ST

     WEST OF CTY RD 33...AND VEGA AVE AT 86TH AT 94TH STREETS.

Here are the latest flood warnings around the state


FLASH FLOOD WARNING

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR AN ICE JAM AND SNOW MELT IN...
EXTREME NORTHWESTERN MORRISON COUNTY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA...

* UNTIL 1130 PM CDT

* AT 522 PM CDT...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED FLASH
FLOODING ALONG THE CROW WING RIVER...ABOUT 2 MILES EAST OF MOTLEY.
ONE RESIDENT WAS RESCUED FROM HER HOME ON AZALEA ROAD OR COUNTY
HIGHWAY 28. AN OFFICER REPORTED WATER WAS RISING QUICKLY AND WATER
WAS MOVING AROUND THE ICE JAM. PEOPLE ALONG AND UPSTREAM OF LAKE
PLACID ARE ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR WATER LEVELS FOR ANY DRAMATIC
CHANGES...AND EVACUATE AS NECESSARY.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...MOTLEY AND
RURAL AREAS AROUND LAKE PLACID.

FLOOD WARNING

...THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING RIVERS IN
MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN...

MINNESOTA RIVER AT MONTEVIDEO AFFECTING CHIPPEWA...LAC QUI
PARLE...RENVILLE AND YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTIES
MINNESOTA RIVER AT GRANITE FALLS AFFECTING CHIPPEWA...RENVILLE AND
YELLOW MEDICINE COUNTIES
MINNESOTA RIVER AT HENDERSON AFFECTING LE SUEUR...SCOTT AND SIBLEY
COUNTIES
MINNESOTA RIVER NEAR JORDAN AFFECTING CARVER AND SCOTT COUNTIES
MINNESOTA RIVER AT SHAKOPEE AFFECTING CARVER...HENNEPIN AND SCOTT
COUNTIES
MINNESOTA RIVER AT NEW ULM AFFECTING BLUE EARTH...BROWN AND
NICOLLET COUNTIES
MINNESOTA RIVER AT MANKATO AFFECTING BLUE EARTH AND NICOLLET
COUNTIES
MINNESOTA RIVER AT SAVAGE AFFECTING DAKOTA...HENNEPIN AND SCOTT
COUNTIES
MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT ST PAUL AFFECTING DAKOTA...RAMSEY AND
WASHINGTON COUNTIES
MISSISSIPPI RIVER NEAR HASTINGS L/D 2 AFFECTING DAKOTA...
WASHINGTON AND PIERCE COUNTIES
COTTONWOOD RIVER AT NEW ULM AFFECTING BLUE EARTH...BROWN AND
NICOLLET COUNTIES
CROW RIVER AT ROCKFORD MN AFFECTING HENNEPIN AND WRIGHT COUNTIES
SOUTH FORK CROW RIVER AT DELANO MN AFFECTING WRIGHT COUNTY
REDWOOD RIVER NEAR REDWOOD FALLS AFFECTING REDWOOD COUNTY
SOUTH FORK CROW RIVER BELOW MAYER AFFECTING CARVER COUNTY
SAUK RIVER AT ST CLOUD AFFECTING STEARNS COUNTY
LONG PRAIRIE RIVER AT LONG PRAIRIE AFFECTING TODD COUNTY

Enjoy your Wednesday and as Kermit the Frog always says... "It's not easy being green"
Happy St. Patty's Day!

Todd's Conservation MN Outlook for the Twin Cities and all of Minnesota


Wednesday: Sun returns after a little morning fog and low cloudiness, more like early April again with leprechaun sightings. High: 59

Wednesday Night: Quiet and quite mild. Low: 36

Thursday: Fading sun late, still relatively balmy. High: 58

Friday: Clouds, showers, turning cooler - a little slushy snow can't be ruled out by Friday night, mainly south. High: 41 (falling)

Saturday: Flurries/sprinkles early, then some afternoon sun. Breezy and feeling cooler. High: 39

Sunday: Mix of clouds and sun with flurry or two? Cool. High: 39

Monday: A little more sun, but where did the April-ish go? High: 40

Tuesday: Clouds increase, growing chance of rain/snow showers. High: 44