A line of thunderstorms moved slowly into western Minnesota during the late evening hours of August 11 and dumped heavy rains in west central and northwest parts of the state. The heaviest rain fell in Wilkin, eastern Clay, and western Becker Counties. Street flooding was reported in Wahpeton, North Dakota, just across the border from Breckenridge. 2.75 inches fell in two hours at Wahpeton. Fargo received 3.45 inches for a storm total. Some of the higher rainfall totals found in Minnesota were 4.30 inches in Breckenridge. 2.79 inches at Sabin, 2.70 inches fell at Wheaton and 2.39 inches fell at Detroit Lakes. The heaviest 24 hour total reported was 4.70 inches at the town of Barnesville in southern Clay County. The line of thunderstorms diminished as they moved to the east overnight. For most areas, what rain fell was welcome to alleviate the dry conditions.
Below are local storm reports and public information statements courtesy the National Weather Service.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
1138 AM CDT TUE AUG 12 2008
...DAILY RAIN TOTAL 3RD HIGHEST ON RECORD...
BASED ON THE PRELIMINARY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICIAL NWS
COOPERATIVE OBSERVER IN BRECKENRIDGE MINNESOTA...THE RECENT
RAINFALL IS THE 3RD HIGHEST SINGLE DAY TOTAL ON RECORD.
4.30 INCHES OF RAIN FELL AT THE WAHPETON WATER TREATMENT PLANT
BETWEEN 8AM MONDAY AUGUST 11TH AND 8 AM TUESDAY AUGUST 12TH. THE
RECORD 24 HOUR TOTAL OF 4.73 INCHES OCCURRED ON JUNE 3RD 2007.
UNOFFICIAL REPORTS OF OVER 7 INCHES OF RAIN IN THE WAHPETON AND
BRECKENRIDGE AREAS HAVE BEEN RECIEVED BY THE NWS. OFFICIAL COOPERATIVE WEATHER REPORTS FOR THE WAHPETON/BRECKENRIDGE
AREA DATE BACK TO 1931. DURING THE PERIOD 1931 TO 1999 RECORDS
WERE COLLECTED AT THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT IN NORTH WAHPETON. IN
THE WINTER OF 2000 THE STATION WAS MOVED TO THE BRECKENRIDGE SIDE
OF THE RIVER...WHERE DATA ARE NOW COLLECTED. THE TWO LOCATIONS
ARE APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES APART.
THE NWS...IN COOPERATION WITH THE MINNESOTA STATE CLIMATOLOGIST
OFFICE IN SAINT PAUL...AND THE NATIONAL CLIMATE DATA CENTER WILL
INVESTIGATE THIS POTENTIAL RECORD EVENT DUE TO THE SIGNIFICANT
IMPACT IT HAS MADE ON THE AREA.
$
EWENS
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
1208 PM CDT TUE AUG 12 2008
...RAINFALL TOTALS ACROSS THE AREA...
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FELL ACROSS A LARGE PART OF EASTERN
NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY
NIGHT. GENERALLY 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN FELL ACROSS MUCH OF THE
AREA. MORE SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL OCCURRED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
PORTION OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY WHERE AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES
WERE COMMON. RAINFALL AMOUNTS ABOVE 3 INCHES ARE MORE ISOLATED
OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA.
BELOW ARE THE EVENT TOTAL RAINFALL REPORTS FROM SUNDAY NIGHT
THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. THESE REPORTS COME FROM A VARIETY OF
DATA SOURCES. THE MAJORITY OF THESE REPORTS WHERE OBTAINED FROM
WEATHER SERVICE OBSERVERS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
NDAWN - NORTH DAKOTA AGRICULTURE WEATHER NETWORK
ASOS - AUTOMATIC SURFACE OBSERVATION STATION
AWOS - AUTOMATIC WEATHER OBSERVATION STATION
RAWS - REMOTE AUTOMATED WEATHER STATION
LOCATION AMOUNT
--------------------------------------------------
FAIRMOUNT ND 5.00
BRECKENRIDGE MN 4.56
2 SW ABERCROMBIE ND 4.51
COLFAX ND 4.07
NDAWN AT WAHPETON ND 3.92
ARGYLE MN 3.60
ASOS AT FARGO AIRPORT ND 3.49
4SE ALVARADO MN 3.40
9 W WAHPETON ND 3.35
BARNEY ND 3.20
BARNESVILLE MN 3.16
LANCASTER MN 3.12
MANTADOR ND 3.10
NDAWN AT WYNDMERE ND 3.08
ALVARADO MN 3.00
TAMARAC RIVER GAGE NEAR STEPHEN MN 2.85
ROTHSAY MN 2.84
LIDGERWOOD ND 2.80
SABIN MN 2.79
CAMPBELL MN 2.62
AWOS AT DETROIT LAKES MN 2.39
AMENIA ND 2.31
SNAKE RIVER GAGE NEAR RADIUM MN 2.28
OSLO MN 2.28
11 N LANGDON ND 2.25
2.5 N ARTHUR ND 2.25
5 N LIDGERWOOD ND 2.20
HALLOCK MN 2.19
MOORHEAD MN 2.16
MAYVILLE ND 2.12
NDAWN AT MAYVILLE 2.10
GRAND FORKS NWS ND 2.08
FOXHOME MN 2.08
RED LAKE FALLS MN 2.05
6 E LANKIN ND 1.93
FELTON MN 1.92
RAWS AT DETROIT LAKES MN 1.89
SOUTH GRAND FORKS ND 1.82
ASOS AT GRAND FORKS ND 1.80
NDAWN AT FOREST RIVER ND 1.80
HAVANA ND 1.79
GRYGLA DNR MN 1.79
RED LAKE DAM MN 1.74
ARGYLE MN 1.73
VALLEY CITY ND 1.63
NDAWN AT CAVALIER ND 1.63
GAGE AT ORWELL DAM MN 1.61
AWOS AT FOSSTON MN 1.58
AWOS AT HALLOCK MN 1.51
FORMAN ND 1.46
NDAWN AT 2 W MICHIGAN ND 1.43
ADA MN 1.40
NDAWN AT LANGDON ND 1.34
MAPLETON ND 1.29
9 SW LANKIN ND 1.29
PEMBINA ND 1.23
HIGH LANDING MN 1.20
AWOS AT THIEF RIVER FALLS MN 1.17
CARIBOU MN 1.16
NDAWN AT HILLSBORO ND 1.12
THIEF RIVER FALLS MN 1.11
GWINNER ND 1.10
GREENBUSH MN 1.06
SHELLY MN 1.05
ROSEAU MN 1.03
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1042 PM CDT MON AUG 11 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1000 PM FLASH FLOOD WAHPETON 46.27N 96.61W
08/11/2008 RICHLAND ND TRAINED SPOTTER
WATER 2 TO 3 FEET DEEP IN THE STREETS OF WAHPETON WITH
WATER UP TO FRONT LAWNS. BASEMENT DRAINS BEING PLUGGED.
RAINFALL 2.75 INCHES IN TWO HOURS.
1042 PM FLASH FLOOD WAHPETON 46.27N 96.61W
08/11/2008 RICHLAND ND LAW ENFORCEMENT
NO TRAVEL ADVISED BY CITY OFFICIALS DUE TO FLOODING
For more information contact: [email protected]