Historic Rainfall Washes Out Records, Swells River and Closes Roads in Southeast Minnesota
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The rain that fell across southeast Minnesota Friday and Saturday will go down in history.
Read More: Spring Valley Hit Hard by Flooding
The excessive rain caused flooding that forced the closure of multiple major roadways in the area. Multiple rivers and tributaries swelled over their banks following the heavy rains.
16 monitoring stations in the National Weather Service La Crosse's forecast area in southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa and Southwest Wisconsin saw 48-hour record rainfall over the weekend.
Most Southeast Minnesota Roads Overwhelmed by Flooding Reopen
The majority of the major roads in southeast Minnesota that were closed due to flooding over the weekend have reopened.
I-90 in Austin and Hwy. 63 in Spring Valley are once again open after the roadways were overwhelmed by flood water on Saturday. West River Parkway in Rochester also reopened Sunday.
Hwy. 250 from Lanesboro to east of Chatfield, a small stretch of Hwy. 150 south of Austin near the Minnesota/Iowa Border and Hwy. 58 north of Zumbrota are also back open to traffic.
Hwy. 74 from Beaver to Weaver in Wabasha and Winona Counties remains closed.
Multiple Southeast Minnesota Communities See New Rainfall Record
The nearly 3.9 inches of rain measured in Spring Valley from Friday and Saturday shattered the previous record of almost 1.7 inches set in 2007.
3.9 inches of rain in Minnesota City over that same time span topped the previous high of nearly 2.5 inches set 67 years ago.
Over 2.8 inches fell in Winona over those 48 hours, which washed out the previous record of just over 2 inches set in 1957.
Excessive Rain Leads to River & Creek Flooding Across Southeast Minnesota
In Zumbro Falls, the Zumbro River crested at 23.7 feet Sunday morning, which is less than a foot below moderate flood stage.
Dobbins Creek in Austin came within under a foot from reaching major flood stage when it crested at almost 17.6 feet on Saturday. Turtle Creek in Austin crested at 12.6 feet on Saturday, which brought it into moderate flood stage.
Officials are now turning their attention to the Mississippi River, which is predicted to rise throughout the week.
The National Weather Service says river is forecasted to reach moderate flood stage in Red Wing and come within less than a foot of major flood stage by Sunday night.
Mississippi River water levels are expected to approach moderate flood stage in Wabasha and Winona by the end of the week.
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Gallery Credit: T.J. Leverentz
