By Tim Krohn
Free Press Staff Writer
— Flooding in the Mankato region is not expected to be significantly worse than predicted a couple of weeks ago, but a quick thaw and rain in the river valley have sped things up.
The Minnesota River is expected to rise about 10 feet by next Friday, bringing it to 20 feet at Mankato. Moderate flooding does not occur until 25 feet, and the flood walls protect to more than 30 feet.
Barring heavy rains, the river at Mankato is expected to crest below the moderate flooding level. Still, officials say the warm and wet weather is a concern and they are not yet exactly sure how it will affect the river.
“Any time you get rain on snow, it’s not a good thing. So it certainly accelerates the melt,” said Diane Cooper, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. “We can’t be sure how the river responds to this.”
About 60 local and state officials met Friday morning in Henderson to coordinate flood preparations for the region.
Henderson City Clerk Lon Berberich said they don’t have a lot to do but wait and watch. “We’re just waiting for the ice to break up and watching the river.”
Low-lying Henderson is protected by a levy
system, but getting in and out of the town will get more difficult as roads flood.
Fran Bigaouette, Minnesota Department of Transportation supervisor, said he expects the department will close and detour Highway 19 east of Henderson by Wednesday and Highway 93 south of Henderson shortly after.
“In Henderson, we’ll probably have sustained high river levels for several weeks,” Bigaouette said.
When both roads are closed, it adds about 20 miles for those going north on Highway 169 and needing to get to Henderson. Motorists will have to go to Belle Plaine, then to Gaylord and back onto Highway 19.
He said Sibley County Road 6, near the intersection of County Roads 5 and 6, also could be impacted. The area is north of Henderson and west of Blakeley.
Bigaouette has dealt with flood preparation and response for many years at MnDOT. “I’ve been through three 100-year floods.”
He said that with current conditions and predictions, the region should not see flooding anything like that of 2001.
“We should be well below the levels we had in 2001. We’re not expecting any problems on roads around St. Peter or on (Highway) 169,” he said. “But we’re probably only one thunderstorm away from having some issues with roads.”
Bigaouette urges motorists to make use of calling 511 for road condition information and warned people to adhere to signs and barricades.
At Montevideo, the Minnesota River is predicted to rise 8 feet by the end of next week, just above flood stage and 9 feet below the record set in 1997. But officials are expecting the crest to go higher.
The Weather Service on Thursday declared a flood watch for the Red River Valley, saying the river could rise as much as 5 feet in the next week. Flooding on the Red is expected to be similar to last spring’s record floods.
