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STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) -- The Metropolitan Airports Commission temporarily shut down flight operations for much of Tuesday at the St. Paul Downtown Airport while crews installed flood control barriers to hold back rising water on the Mississippi River.
St. Paul, Stillwater and other Minnesota communities have been busy preparing for major flooding on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, which are swollen with water from one of the snowiest winters on record in the region. Temperatures in the 80s last week accelerated the spring melt.
The St. Croix, on the Wisconsin border, was expected to reach major flood stage in Stillwater tonight and crest Friday before beginning a slow retreat. The city's temporarily levee should be high enough, officials said.
"We're in pretty good shape," Shawn Sanders, the city's director of public works, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "We're just worried about if it's going to come up higher, if we would have to do anything else, but other than that, we're doing OK."
The St. Paul airport, which serves private, corporate, state government and National Guard aircraft, sits on a bend in the Mississippi River, which is expected to reach major flood stage in downtown St. Paul on Thursday and crest on Sunday. The 4-foot-high temporary floodwall, which can be extended to 8.5 feet, also shortens the airport's primary runway.
St. Paul closed major roads along the riverfront last weekend in preparation, as well as several flood-prone parks.
Gov. Tim Walz on Monday signed a bill to provide $40 million to replenish a disaster aid fund that the state can tap for responding to expected flooding across the state.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency throughout the state of Wisconsin following heavy rainfall and rapid snowmelt that have contributed to flooding issues in several counties and the potential for more widespread flooding across the state.
Above-normal temperatures within the last week caused the snowpack in northern Wisconsin to decrease rapidly, creating elevated water levels in rivers and watersheds. This has resulted in flooding in low-lying areas and locations with poor drainage, causing water-covered roadways, washouts, and culvert damage. Several rivers and streams have also risen to flood stage and could continue to rise in the coming days. Heavy precipitation in the forecast could produce an additional one to three inches of rain, causing more damage.
Similar conditions are reported in the Upper Peninsula, where a flood warning is in effect for the Michigamme, Menominee, Sturgeon and East Branch Escanaba rivers, along with several others.