Heavy Rains Pound Southwestern Minnesota, July 3, 2018

Radar animation showing regenerating thunderstorms producing extreme rains along and southwest of the Minnesota River during the early hours of July 03, 2018
Radar animation showing regenerating thunderstorms producing extreme rains along and southwest of the Minnesota River during the early hours of July 03, 2018
Courtesy: College of DuPage

Repeated heavy thunderstorms produced flash-flooding in southwestern Minnesota during the morning of July 3, 2018.

Thunderstorms developed overnight in the Dakotas and central Minnesota, but one thunderstorm cell that formed between Marshall and Redwood Falls never seemed to go away, and ended up producing rainfall totals of over five inches.

The largest rainfall amounts fell along and southwest of the Minnesota River, in and around Redwood Falls, Marshall, Tracy, Slayton, and Walnut Grove, where rainfall totals of 3-5 inches were common. The National Weather Service Cooperative Observer at Redwood Falls reported 5.25 inches as of 7 AM. An automated tipping bucket at a stream gaging site near Redwoods Falls unofficially tallied over seven inches.

The heavy rains resulted in rising stream and river levels, along with flash-flooding of low lying areas. Roads were underwater in Cottonwood, Murray, Lyon, and Redwood Counties, with residential sandbagging reported around the town of Ghent.

These storms came on the heels of a soggy June, when many of the same areas received monthly rainfall totals of 8-12 inches.

Storm Reports and Public Information Statements from the National Weather Service.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 
926 AM CDT TUE JUL 3 2018 
..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON... 
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... 
..REMARKS.. 
0800 AM     FLOOD            WABASSO                 44.41N 95.25W 
07/03/2018                   REDWOOD            MN   PUBLIC           
REPORTED VIA TWITTER. PHOTOS OF FLOODED 
STREETS, BALL FIELD, AND LOW LYING AREAS IN 
TOWN FROM HEAVY RAINFALL. 
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 
935 AM CDT TUE JUL 3 2018 
..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON... 
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... 
..REMARKS.. 
0903 AM     FLASH FLOOD      4 N LYND                44.44N 95.90W 
07/03/2018                   LYON               MN   DEPT OF HIGHWAYS 
ROAD CLOSED AT INTERSECTION OF HWY 19 AND 
COUNTY ROAD 5 DUE TO FLOODING. 
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 
948 AM CDT TUE JUL 3 2018 
..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON... 
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... 
..REMARKS.. 
0925 AM     FLASH FLOOD      2 WSW LAKE WILSON       43.99N 95.98W 
07/03/2018                   MURRAY             MN   TRAINED SPOTTER  
WATER OVER 40TH AVE SOUTH OF HWY 30. 
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 
947 AM CDT TUE JUL 3 2018 
..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON... 
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... 
..REMARKS.. 
0930 AM     FLASH FLOOD      3 WNW CHANDLER          43.95N 96.00W 
07/03/2018                   MURRAY             MN   TRAINED SPOTTER  
WATER OVER THE ROAD NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF 
71ST ST. AND 30TH AVE. 
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 
938 AM CDT TUE JUL 3 2018 
..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON... 
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... 
..REMARKS.. 
0935 AM     FLASH FLOOD      5 SSE WOODSTOCK         43.95N 96.05W 
07/03/2018                   MURRAY             MN   TRAINED SPOTTER  
WATER OVER TOWNSHIP ROADS IN SOUTHWEST 
MURRAY COUNTY.
Public Information Statement 
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 
1113 AM CDT Tue Jul 3 2018 
...Highest Wind Gusts... 
Showers with gusty winds moved through central Minnesota this 
morning. Peak wind gusts of 40 MPH or greater are listed below. 
Location                     Speed     Time/Date       Provider             
St. Cloud AP                 70 MPH    0944 AM 07/03   ASOS                 
Olivia AP                    63 MPH    0315 AM 07/03   AWOS                 
Alexandria 2SSE              58 MPH    0546 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Alexandria AP                56 MPH    0543 AM 07/03   ASOS                 
Princeton AP                 55 MPH    1016 AM 07/03   AWOS                 
Cambridge AP                 51 MPH    1039 AM 07/03   AWOS                 
Santiago 3E                  51 MPH    1020 AM 07/03   RAWS                 
Marietta 5SSW                51 MPH    0430 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Foley 6WSW                   50 MPH    0930 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Sauk Rapids 4E               49 MPH    0939 AM 07/03   CWOP                 
Willmar 2ENE                 49 MPH    0100 AM 07/03   CWOP                 
Hutchinson AP                49 MPH    1015 AM 07/03   AWOS                 
Little Falls 2SSE            46 MPH    0907 AM 07/03   RAWS                 
Belgrade 3ESE                46 MPH    0145 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Rice 1NNW                    45 MPH    0641 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Granite Ledge 7N             44 MPH    0318 AM 07/03   CWOP                 
Sauk Centre AP               43 MPH    0655 AM 07/03   AWOS                 
Glenwood AP                  43 MPH    0735 AM 07/03   AWOS                 
Clearwater 1SE               43 MPH    0945 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Paynesville AP               43 MPH    0515 AM 07/03   AWOS                 
Redwood Falls AP             43 MPH    0839 AM 07/03   ASOS                 
Sauk Centre 2SE              42 MPH    0645 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Bock 3WNW                    41 MPH    1020 AM 07/03   CWOP                 
Silver Lake 3E               40 MPH    1035 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Harding 3WNW                 40 MPH    0745 AM 07/03   MNDOT                
Morris AP                    40 MPH    0615 AM 07/03   AWOS                 
Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying 
equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers 
for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official. 

Last modified: July 3, 2018

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