St. Croix River Water Level at 686.81 Feet; Bridge Closure Sends Traffic Through Hudson

Editor's note: This is no longer the most recent  post. 

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As of 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, 2011, the St. Croix River water level was at 686.81 feet and rising in Stillwater, MN. The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed the Stillwater Lift Bridge on Friday.

The bridge closure has meant additional traffic along Highway 35 (Second Street in Hudson and Sixth Street North in North Hudson). According to the city's website, the three traffic signals on Second Street "have been synchronized with longer times for vehicles traveling north/south on Second Street, to improve the flow of traffic."

On Thursday, Hudson city workers closed a portion of First Street along , between Buckeye Street and Wisconsin Street. Businesses in the Riverfront Square building on Buckeye Street (,  and ) are not affected and remain open. Portions of Front Street have been under water for nearly two weeks.

Forecasts predict the river to crest at 688.6 feet on Thursday, April 14. At that height the floor of Buckeye Street Garage (686.75 feet) will begin to flood and water will flow over the top of the Lake Mallalieu dam gates (688.3 feet). Flood stage officially begins once the river reaches 687 feet. Moderate flood stage begins at 688 feet.

The river reached an initial crest at 686.09 feet on March 31. Water levels receded for a few days, but a second crest is now on the way. The first crest was the 10th highest ever recorded at Stillwater, knocking last year's March 25 crest of 685.93 feet out of the top 10. If forecasts are accurate, the river would crest again just below 1993's flood level of 687.9 feet.

The area remains under a flood warning and Hudson Mayor Alan Burchill has declared a flood emergency in Hudson. See a live video stream of the flood at First and Buckeye streets in Hudson by going to http://patch.com/buTux.

About the water levels

The average water level in Hudson is 675 feet. The following are elevations (in feet) of various areas in Hudson that are prone to flooding, according to the city's flood work plan:

• Seawall at Lakefront Park: 680
• Second tier at Lakefront Park: 684
• Lowest elevation of Front Street: 684.9
• First Street (between Buckeye Street and Commercial Street): 685.8
• Floor of Buckeye Street Garage: 686.75
• Top of Lake Mallalieu dam gates: 688.3
• Slab elevation at Lakefront Park bathhouse: 690
• Top of Dike Road: 691
• Abandoned railroad bed north of Vine Street to St. Croix Street: 692

Hudson flood history

The highest flood elevations (in feet) in Hudson history (as measured at Stillwater, MN) are the following, according to the National Weather Service:

1. 694.1 on April 14, 1965
2. 692.3 on April 27, 2001
3. 692.2 on April 16,1969
4. 691.1 on April 16, 2001
5. 690.45 on April 12, 1997
6. 689.7 on April 14, 1952
7. 687.9 on June 28, 1993
8. 687.5 on April 6, 1986
9. 687.3 on April 30, 1975
10. 686.09 on March 31, 2011
11. 685.93 on March 25, 2010

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Editor's Note: The statistics and forecasts from this article come from the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (NOAA-NWS).