On a sunny Sunday featuring a record-high 64 degrees in the Twin Cities and continued rapid snowmelt that caused some ice jams on area rivers and streams, the National Weather Service issued several flash-flood warnings.
It also added the Mississippi River in St. Paul and Hastings to a long list of flood warnings, predicting moderate flooding, and predicted the Red River in Moorhead, Minn., and Fargo, N.D., would rise to 38 feet by week's end.
The flash-flood warnings, triggered by ice jams in the Minnesota River and its tributaries, were issued for overnight Sunday for parts of Le Sueur, Sibley and Scott counties.
Although area rivers and streams continued to creep up over the weekend, Sunday brought only minor flooding, said Diane Cooper, a hydrologist with the Weather Service. But, she added, "This is a long-duration event."
Earlier flood warnings remained in effect in cities such as Montevideo and Mankato, along the Minnesota and its tributaries. Towns on high alert included Delano, Mayer, Long Prairie and New Ulm.
Sunday's record high of 64 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport -- the first time since November the temperature has surpassed 60 -- is not likely to have much of an impact because much of the snowpack has already melted, forecasters said.
The temperature reading broke the record of 62 set in 1990, 1973 and 1878. The normal high for the day is 39, said Mike Bardou, a Weather Service meteorologist.
In the Savage area, ice dams were forming on the Credit River, causing water to creep into some back yards.
