Staff photo by Fritz Busch The Minnesota River rises against the Nicollet County Road 21 reconstruction and slope stability project, near the Beussman bridge just north of New Ulm Thursday. The river was observed at 801.54 feet Thursday morning. It is expected to crest at 803 feet Saturday night. Flood stage is 800 feet.

NEW ULM –The National Weather Service (NWS) continued river flood warnings for the Minnesota and Crow Rivers Thursday.

The Minnesota River was observed at 801.54 feet in New Ulm at 9:45 a.m. Thursday. The river is expected to crest at 803 feet Saturday night. Flood stage is 800 feet.

Minor flooding is occurring and forecast to continue until further notice. Moderate flood stage is 804 feet.

At 805 feet, the South Front Street flood gate is closed. River water can be seen in the Brown County 13 ditch just south of the Beussman Bridge in New Ulm.

Other flood warnings include the Minnesota River at Highway 212 in Granite Falls, at Morton and Montevideo; the Crow River South Fork below Mayer and the Crow River at Rockford.

In Morton, moderate flooding is occurring and forecast until further notice. The river was observed at 25.1 feet at 9 a.m. Thursday. The river is forecast to crest at 25.2 feet before falling to 23.7 feet Thursday, July 10. Flood stage is 21 feet.

At 26 feet, many roads are flooded and impassable between the Minnesota River and Redwood Falls.

In Granite Falls, minor flooding is occurring and forecast to continue until further notice. The river was observed at 886.9 feet at 8:15 a.m. Thursday. The river is expected to crest at 887.2 feet early in the afternoon of July 4. Flood stage is 885 feet.

At 889.1 feet, flood water begins to flow over Dikes Road and into a natural diversion that begins upstream of Granite Falls. Water flows west and south of the city, reentering the river just below Highway 212.

In Montevideo, moderate flooding is occurring and forecast until further notice. The river was observed at 17.3 feet at 9 a.m. Thursday. The river is expected to crest at 17.4 feet July 3. Flood stage is 14 feet. At 17 feet, storm sewers may need to be plugged to prevent water from backing up onto streets.