We’ve been dealing with some nasty, raw, rainy weather today and it’s only going to get more unpleasant and more difficult to deal with over the next couple of days thanks to the arrival of a large, dynamic storm system from the west.  We’ve already been inundated with rain from this system today and will continue to experience light to moderate rainfall through the afternoon and evening.  Because of the heavy rainfall earlier today and concerns with heavy runoff from these showers, the National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch effective until 7:00 PM Thursday for a large portion of our viewing area.

Up to three inches of total rainfall may fall this week in the affected counties, causing localized flooding.

the next phase of this storm system will be a gradual transition to winter weather late tonight through Wednesday and Thursday.  We’ll first see a transition from rain to freezing rain late tonight into early Wednesday morning with some ice accumulation possible, especially on tree branches and power lines.  By midday and afternoon Wednesday, it looks to eb a light rain event for most of us.  There will be another changeover to sleet, freezing rain, and light snow Wednesday night with mainly snow falling by Thursday morning.  During the day Thursday three to six inches of snow may accumulate in southeastern Minnesota with heavier amounts to the north and northwest in the Twin Cities area and western Minnesota where six to twelve inches will be possible.  Locations along the Iowa border and in northern Iowa itself can expected three inches or less by the time the snow tapers off Thursday evening.

Those in the Winter Weather Advisory can expect freezing rain at times Tuesday night, through parts of Wednesday, and Wednesday night, and then three to six inches of snow Thursday. Areas south of the Winter Weather Advisory will see lighter amounts.

Posted under flooding, winter weather

Trout Run at 7pm, April 4th, 2013

Middle Branch Whitewater also exceeded minor flood stage late this afternoon into the early evening.

I’m sure there are a few more like this tonight as well.

Posted under flooding

These pictures were taken Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013 on the North Branch of the Root River near Cummingsville, which is a few miles northwest of Chatfield on County Road 30.

Posted under flooding

The rain wasn’t much Saturday morning and afternoon, but combine that with the ongoing thaw and frozen ground and it has been enough to send some area rivers and streams into minor flood stage.  Be on the lookout for water rises on most area waterways and minor flooding, especially in the flood prone areas.  It is important to note that we are NOT looking at anything similar to the flooding of 2010 or 2007, but water is expected to rise to or remain in minor flood stage through Sunday afternoon/evening thanks to the snow melt/ice jamming.  Below you will find a few graphs of that contain flood stages and the forecasts for the rivers over the next several hours.

Posted under flooding, spring, weather

It appears that locations along the Mississippi River near Wabasha will dodge the bullet and miss out on any widespread flooding as the river is now reaching its crest right at flood stage.  There will be some localized flooding in low lying areas, but nothing extensive as the river levels are expected to hover at 12 feet and then slowly fall late in the week.  There will be a few chances for some rain this week, but nothing too heavy is expected, so unexpected rises in the river level aren’t foreseen in the short term.

Posted under flooding

The good news from having hardly any snow in the Upper Midwest this past winter meant no news headlines of flooding down the Mississippi River.  However, over the last few weeks, the overall weather pattern has been driving storm systems through the region.  While SE MN and NE IA haven’t always always benefited from these recent rains streams and smaller rivers that drain into the might Mississippi have sure had a lot.

All of the heavy rain over the same area’s have caused the river to rise and thus a Flood Warning is in effect for Wabasha  County as the Mississippi River there is expected to crest just above Minor Flood Stage in the upcoming days.  Below is the river forecast put out  by the river forecast crew of the National Weather Service.

Mississippi River Forecast at Wabasha

Posted under flooding, rainfall

One year ago today, hundreds of people were displaced from their homes across southeast Minnesota. The worst of the flooding locally was on the Zumbro River. To this day, recovery is still on-going, especially in communities like Zumbro Falls and Hammond.

Regional rainfall total from the 22nd through the 23rd

The volume of water forced through the river valleys of southeast Minnesota last year was clearly devastating and in places was unprecedented. When the Zumbro hit record stage in Zumbro Falls, the USGS river gauge was damaged, leaving it unable to give an official measurement of the flood waters. The level exceeded the all-time record by approximately 6 feet.

For a full synopsis with rainfall totals, photos, and archived river graphs, check this link.

Posted under flooding

This video shows the incredible force of water. All of this video is from Vermont. There were many other parts of the east coast and New England that dealt with equivalent flooding.

According to MSNBC, the Hurricane Irene death toll is now at least as high as 39.

Posted under flooding, severe weather, Tropical weather

photo courtesy of Nicole Anderson

We got pegged with heavy rainfall Thursday afternoon from northern Mower County into Olmsted County. Reports in some locations vary from 3-5″ where the heaviest rain fell. None of the reporting stations were hit with the afternoon deluge except for a lock and dam station in Winona where nearly 6″ was reported! My personal rain gauge in Southeast Rochester had exactly 1″ in it, and we picked up 1.18″ here in Northwest Rochester. In between, anywhere from 1.50″ to 3″ fell in the time span of about 30-45 minutes, filling up Rochester’s streets, gullies, and intersections quickly and stalling out quite a few cars.

Here are 24 hour reported rainfall totals courtesy of the NWS La Crosse…

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
900 AM CDT FRI JUL 29 2011

    ...24 HOUR RAINFALL TOTALS ACROSS THE AREA...

LOCATION                   RAINFALL    TIME     LAT/LON

IOWA

...ALLAMAKEE COUNTY...
WAUKON                     0.20        0700 AM  43.27N 91.47W
POSTVILLE                  0.14        0700 AM  43.09N 91.56W
DORCHESTER                 0.12        0700 AM  43.47N 91.51W
LANSING 4SE                0.11        0700 AM  43.32N 91.16W
HARPERS FERRY              0.09        0700 AM  43.17N 91.24W
ION                        0.09        0700 AM  43.11N 91.27W
DORCHESTER HIGHWAY 76      0.02        0700 AM  43.42N 91.51W

...CHICKASAW COUNTY...
NEW HAMPTON                0.08        0700 AM  43.06N 92.31W
IONIA                      0.06        0700 AM  43.03N 92.50W

...CLAYTON COUNTY...
GUTTENBERG                 0.28        0700 AM  42.79N 91.10W
VOLGA                      0.28        0700 AM  42.81N 91.52W
STRAWBERRY POINT           0.25        0700 AM  42.69N 91.53W
ELKADER                    0.19        0700 AM  42.84N 91.40W
LITTLEPORT                 0.17        0700 AM  42.75N 91.37W
MARQUETTE                  0.08        0700 AM  43.04N 91.21W
MCGREGOR                   0.08        0700 AM  43.02N 91.17W
GARBER                     0.07        0700 AM  42.74N 91.26W

...FAYETTE COUNTY...
FAYETTE                    0.22        0700 AM  42.85N 91.82W
ELDORADO                   0.10        0700 AM  43.05N 91.81W

...FLOYD COUNTY...
CHARLES CITY COOP          0.07        0700 AM  43.08N 92.67W
NASHUA                     0.06        0700 AM  42.94N 92.57W

...WINNESHIEK COUNTY...
DECORAH AWOS               0.05        0700 AM  43.28N 91.74W
DECORAH                    0.04        0700 AM  43.30N 91.80W

MINNESOTA

...FILLMORE COUNTY...
LANESBORO                  0.23        0700 AM  43.72N 91.97W
PRESTON AWOS               0.23        0700 AM  43.68N 92.18W
SPRING VALLEY              0.15        0700 AM  43.69N 92.39W
PRESTON                    0.12        0700 AM  43.67N 92.07W
CARIMONA                   0.11        0700 AM  43.66N 92.15W
PILOT MOUND                0.06        0700 AM  43.78N 92.03W
HIGHLAND                   0.04        0700 AM  43.65N 91.84W

...HOUSTON COUNTY...
HOUSTON                    0.07        0700 AM  43.77N 91.57W
MOUND PRAIRIE              0.04        0700 AM  43.78N 91.45W

...MOWER COUNTY...
LANSING                    1.06        0700 AM  43.75N 92.95W
AUSTIN                     0.68        0700 AM  43.67N 92.95W
AUSTIN AWOS                0.52        0700 AM  43.67N 92.93W
AUSTIN 3S                  0.27        0700 AM  43.62N 93.00W
GRAND MEADOW               0.10        0700 AM  43.71N 92.56W

...OLMSTED COUNTY...
ROCHESTER - CASCADE CREEK  1.48        0700 AM  44.03N 92.48W
ROCHESTER - BEAR CREEK     1.27        0700 AM  43.92N 92.48W
POST TOWN                  1.27        0700 AM  44.09N 92.82W
ELBA                       1.00        0700 AM  44.05N 92.05W
ROCHESTER MAPLE VALLEY     1.00        0700 AM  44.02N 92.42W
ELGIN                      0.46        0700 AM  44.10N 92.27W

...WABASHA COUNTY...
THEILMAN                   0.52        0700 AM  44.28N 92.19W
KELLOGG                    0.28        0700 AM  44.32N 92.00W
WABASHA                    0.13        0700 AM  44.39N 92.05W
LAKE CITY COOP             0.05        0700 AM  44.43N 92.28W
LAKE CITY                  0.04        0700 AM  44.45N 92.26W

...WINONA COUNTY...
WINONA L/D 5A              5.75        0700 AM  44.09N 91.67W
MINNESOTA CITY             0.87        0700 AM  44.16N 91.81W
ALTURA                     0.52        0700 AM  44.15N 92.01W
LA CRESCENT DAM 7          0.10        0700 AM  43.87N 91.31W
DAKOTA                     0.08        0700 AM  43.92N 91.37W

WISCONSIN

...ADAMS COUNTY...
FRIENDSHIP                 0.03        0700 AM  43.98N 89.83W

...BUFFALO COUNTY...
ALMA DAM 4                 0.72        0700 AM  44.33N 91.92W

...CLARK COUNTY...
OWEN                       0.48        0700 AM  44.98N 90.55W
NEILLSVILLE 3SW            0.37        0700 AM  44.53N 90.64W
NEILLSVILLE                0.26        0700 AM  44.56N 90.61W

...CRAWFORD COUNTY...
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN           0.14        0700 AM  43.05N 91.13W
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN AWOS      0.14        0700 AM  43.30N 89.76W
STEUBEN                    0.14        0700 AM  43.18N 90.87W
STEUBEN 4SE                0.13        0700 AM  43.13N 90.84W
LYNXVILLE DAM 9            0.13        0700 AM  43.21N 91.10W
SOLDIERS GROVE             0.10        0700 AM  43.39N 90.78W

...GRANT COUNTY...
PLATTEVILLE AWOS           0.26        0700 AM  42.69N 90.44W
ROCKVILLE                  0.20        0700 AM  42.73N 90.64W
BOSCOBEL ASOS              0.15        0700 AM  43.16N 90.68W
BURTON                     0.15        0700 AM  42.72N 90.82W
LANCASTER 4WSW             0.14        0700 AM  42.83N 90.79W
CUBA CITY                  0.14        0700 AM  42.63N 90.46W
BOSCOBEL RAWS              0.13        0700 AM  43.15N 90.68W
SINSINAWA                  0.08        0700 AM  42.52N 90.54W

...JACKSON COUNTY...
MATHER 3NW                 2.55        0700 AM  44.17N 90.35W
BLACK RIVER FALLS STP      0.95        0700 AM  44.29N 90.85W
BLACK RIVER FALLS RAWS     0.92        0700 AM  44.30N 90.84W
BLACK RIVER FALLS          0.79        0700 AM  44.38N 90.84W
TAYLOR                     0.44        0700 AM  44.32N 91.12W

...JUNEAU COUNTY...
NECEDAH 5WNW               0.21        0700 AM  44.06N 90.17W
NECEDAH 1W                 0.05        0700 AM  44.02N 90.08W
NEW LISBON 4ENE            0.02        0700 AM  43.91N 90.07W

...LA CROSSE COUNTY...
HOLMEN                     0.14        0700 AM  43.97N 91.27W
HOLMEN 2S                  0.10        0700 AM  43.93N 91.25W
LA CROSSE ASOS             0.05        0700 AM  43.88N 91.26W
LA CROSSE                  0.04        0700 AM  43.80N 91.37W

...MONROE COUNTY...
SPARTA                     0.02        0700 AM  43.94N 90.82W

...RICHLAND COUNTY...
RICHLAND CENTER 1NW        0.10        0700 AM  43.36N 90.42W
RICHLAND CENTER            0.09        0700 AM  43.32N 90.38W

...TAYLOR COUNTY...
LUBLIN DIAMOND LAKE        0.53        0700 AM  45.11N 90.69W
MEDFORD                    0.28        0700 AM  45.13N 90.34W
MEDFORD 4NW                0.23        0700 AM  45.21N 90.36W

...TREMPEALEAU COUNTY...
BLAIR 2NW                  0.47        0700 AM  44.31N 91.27W
OSSEO                      0.30        0700 AM  44.58N 91.22W
GALESVILLE 2WSW            0.19        0700 AM  44.07N 90.39W
TREMPEALEAU DAM 6          0.15        0700 AM  44.00N 91.44W

...VERNON COUNTY...
READSTOWN                  0.10        0700 AM  43.45N 90.76W
HILLSBORO 1SW              0.05        0700 AM  43.65N 90.35W
LA FARGE                   0.03        0700 AM  43.57N 90.64W
VIROQUA                    0.02        0700 AM  43.55N 90.90W
WESTBY 3ENE                0.01        0700 AM  43.68N 90.81W
GENOA                      0.01        0700 AM  43.57N 91.23W

...GOODHUE COUNTY...
ZUMBROTA                   1.75

OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURE. NOT ALL DATA LISTED IS CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.

FOR THIS...AND A WEALTH OF OTHER RIVER AND WEATHER INFORMATION...
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT  WEATHER.GOV/LACROSSE

Posted under flooding, rainfall amounts, Rochester, severe weather

We saw a couple of rounds of very heavy rain in a very short amount of time.  This cause some flash flooding around the area. Here are some of the totals from the event on Friday from around the area as provided by the National Weather Service In La Crosse.

IOWA

...ALLAMAKEE COUNTY...
DORCHESTER HIGHWAY 76      1.00        0700 AM  43.42N 91.51W
WAUKON                     0.74        0700 AM  43.27N 91.47W
LANSING 4SE                0.71        0700 AM  43.32N 91.16W
HARPERS FERRY              0.64        0700 AM  43.17N 91.24W
ION                        0.58        0700 AM  43.11N 91.27W

...CHICKASAW COUNTY...
IONIA                      2.18        0700 AM  43.03N 92.50W

...CLAYTON COUNTY...
VOLGA                      1.05        0700 AM  42.81N 91.52W
STRAWBERRY POINT           0.76        0700 AM  42.69N 91.53W
ELKADER 6SSW               0.55        0700 AM  42.79N 91.45W
LITTLEPORT                 0.45        0700 AM  42.75N 91.37W
ELKADER                    0.41        0700 AM  42.84N 91.40W
MCGREGOR                   0.37        0700 AM  43.02N 91.17W
MARQUETTE                  0.26        0700 AM  43.04N 91.21W
GUTTENBERG                 0.23        0700 AM  42.79N 91.10W
GARBER                     0.20        0700 AM  42.74N 91.26W

...FAYETTE COUNTY...
FAYETTE                    1.27        0700 AM  42.85N 91.82W
ELDORADO                   0.69        0700 AM  43.05N 91.81W

...FLOYD COUNTY...
COLWELL                    2.54        0700 AM  43.16N 92.59W
CHARLES CITY AWOS          2.20        0700 AM  43.07N 92.61W
CHARLES CITY COOP          1.91        0700 AM  43.08N 92.67W
NASHUA                     1.66        0700 AM  42.94N 92.57W
CHARLES CITY CEDAR RVR     1.44        0700 AM  43.06N 92.67W

...HOWARD COUNTY...
CRESCO                     1.35        0700 AM  43.37N 92.11W

...MITCHELL COUNTY...
ST ANSGAR                  4.95        0700 AM  43.37N 92.83W
OSAGE                      3.91        0700 AM  43.28N 92.81W

...WINNESHIEK COUNTY...
BLUFFTON                   1.14        0700 AM  43.41N 91.90W
DECORAH AWOS               1.06        0700 AM  43.28N 91.74W

MINNESOTA

...DODGE COUNTY...
DODGE CENTER AWOS          2.03        0700 AM  44.03N 92.83W

...FILLMORE COUNTY...
SPRING VALLEY 1 NW         1.36        0700 AM  43.70N 92.40W
SPRING VALLEY 3E           1.18        0700 AM  43.68N 92.33W
SPRING VALLEY              1.16        0700 AM  43.69N 92.39W
LANESBORO                  0.92        0700 AM  43.72N 91.97W
CARIMONA                   0.92        0700 AM  43.66N 92.15W
PRESTON                    0.83        0700 AM  43.67N 92.07W
PILOT MOUND                0.79        0700 AM  43.78N 92.03W
PRESTON AWOS               0.11        0700 AM  43.68N 92.18W

...HOUSTON COUNTY...
HOUSTON                    0.66        0700 AM  43.77N 91.57W
MOUND PRAIRIE              0.52        0700 AM  43.78N 91.45W
BROWNSVILLE                0.34        0700 AM  43.70N 91.27W

...MOWER COUNTY...
AUSTIN                     3.57        0700 AM  43.67N 92.95W
AUSTIN AWOS                3.24        0700 AM  43.67N 92.93W
AUSTIN 3S                  2.96        0700 AM  43.62N 93.00W
LANSING                    2.66        0700 AM  43.75N 92.95W
GRAND MEADOW               1.35        0700 AM  43.71N 92.56W

...OLMSTED COUNTY...
ROCHESTER BELTLINE         4.00        0700 AM  43.91N 92.50W
POST TOWN                  3.83        0700 AM  44.09N 92.82W
ROCHESTER - BEAR CREEK     3.63        0700 AM  43.92N 92.48W
ROCHESTER - CASCADE CREEK  3.48        0700 AM  44.03N 92.48W
DOVER                      2.47        0700 AM  44.01N 92.11W
ROCHESTER - SILVER CREEK   1.03        0700 AM  44.03N 92.42W
ELBA                       0.69        0700 AM  44.05N 92.05W

...WABASHA COUNTY...
THEILMAN                   1.97        0700 AM  44.28N 92.19W
LAKE CITY COOP             1.56        0700 AM  44.43N 92.28W
LAKE CITY                  1.35        0700 AM  44.45N 92.26W
KELLOGG                    1.01        0700 AM  44.32N 92.00W

...WINONA COUNTY...
ALTURA                     1.20        0700 AM  44.15N 92.01W
MINNESOTA CITY             0.76        0700 AM  44.16N 91.81W
DAKOTA                     0.76        0700 AM  43.92N 91.37W
ALTURA 5W                  0.68        0700 AM  44.06N 92.04W
WINONA                     0.56        0700 AM  44.09N 91.67W
LA CRESCENT DAM 7          0.56        0700 AM  43.87N 91.31W

WISCONSIN

...BUFFALO COUNTY...
ALMA DAM 4                 0.98        0700 AM  44.33N 91.92W

...CLARK COUNTY...
NEILLSVILLE                0.31        0700 AM  44.56N 90.61W
NEILLSVILLE 3SW            0.30        0700 AM  44.53N 90.64W

...CRAWFORD COUNTY...
LYNXVILLE DAM 9            0.68        0700 AM  43.21N 91.10W
STEUBEN                    0.58        0700 AM  43.18N 90.87W
STEUBEN 4SE                0.53        0700 AM  43.13N 90.84W
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN AWOS      0.51        0700 AM  43.30N 89.76W

...GRANT COUNTY...
BOSCOBEL ASOS              0.37        0700 AM  43.16N 90.68W
BOSCOBEL RAWS              0.37        0700 AM  43.15N 90.68W
ROCKVILLE                  0.29        0700 AM  42.73N 90.64W
BURTON                     0.25        0700 AM  42.72N 90.82W
PLATTEVILLE AWOS           0.15        0700 AM  42.69N 90.44W

...JACKSON COUNTY...
BLACK RIVER FALLS STP      0.93        0700 AM  44.29N 90.85W
BLACK RIVER FALLS          0.85        0700 AM  44.38N 90.84W
BLACK RIVER FALLS RAWS     0.80        0700 AM  44.30N 90.84W

...JUNEAU COUNTY...
NEW LISBON 4ENE            0.12        0700 AM  43.91N 90.07W
NECEDAH 5WNW               0.07        0700 AM  44.06N 90.17W
NECEDAH 1W                 0.03        0700 AM  44.02N 90.08W

...LA CROSSE COUNTY...
LA CROSSE ASOS             0.63        0700 AM  43.88N 91.26W
LA CROSSE WEATHER          0.56        0700 AM  43.82N 91.19W
LA CROSSE                  0.42        0700 AM  43.80N 91.37W

...MONROE COUNTY...
TUNNEL CITY                0.47        0700 AM  44.01N 90.57W
WARRENS                    0.26        0700 AM  44.10N 90.59W

...RICHLAND COUNTY...
RICHLAND CENTER 1NW        0.18        0700 AM  43.36N 90.42W

...TAYLOR COUNTY...
LUBLIN DIAMOND LAKE        0.04        0700 AM  45.11N 90.69W

...TREMPEALEAU COUNTY...
TREMPEALEAU DAM 6          0.73        0700 AM  44.00N 91.44W
GALESVILLE 2ESE            0.69        0700 AM  44.08N 91.34W
OSSEO                      0.68        0700 AM  44.58N 91.22W
BLAIR 2NW                  0.65        0700 AM  44.31N 91.27W

...VERNON COUNTY...
GENOA                      0.53        0700 AM  43.57N 91.23W
READSTOWN                  0.47        0700 AM  43.45N 90.76W
COON VALLEY 6S             0.43        0700 AM  43.61N 91.01W
VIROQUA 4WSW               0.43        0700 AM  43.54N 90.96W
HILLSBORO 1SW              0.42        0700 AM  43.65N 90.35W
VIROQUA                    0.38        0700 AM  43.55N 90.90W
WESTBY 3ENE                0.38        0700 AM  43.68N 90.81W
HILLSBORO                  0.37        0700 AM  43.65N 90.33W
WESTBY 2NNE                0.35        0700 AM  43.70N 90.85W
LA FARGE                   0.34        0700 AM  43.57N 90.64W
ONTARIO 3E                 0.33        0700 AM  43.72N 90.60W
ONTARIO                    0.32        0700 AM  43.72N 90.59W
LIBERTY POLE 2SW           0.32        0700 AM  43.49N 90.95W
WESTBY 3SE                 0.28        0700 AM  43.62N 90.82W
VIROQUA 4NE                0.16        0700 AM  43.61N 90.82W

P.S.  All of the excessive heat watches have now been upgraded to excessive heat warnings.  They will go into effect tomorrow afternoon and last through Thursday evening.

Posted under flooding, heat, rainfall, rainfall amounts, weather