Local river levels continue to rise today after an incredibly soggy and tempestuous Tuesday left us with an inch or more of rain in most of the area including a record setting 2.20 inches of rainfall in Rochester.  Austin received a little more than an inch of rainfall yesterday, exacerbating the flood situation along the local creeks and Cedar River.  In fact, the National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning for the Cedar River effective today and tomorrow as the river is expected to rise above flood stage for a few hours in the next 24 hours.  Here’s the statement from the NWS:

 743 AM CDT WED MAR 23 2011

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LA CROSSE WI HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR
  THE CEDAR RIVER AT AUSTIN.
* FROM THIS EVENING TO THURSDAY EVENING.
* AT 7:00 AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 13.7 FEET.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 15.0 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST…RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE TO
  RISE TO BETWEEN 15 AND NEAR 15.5 FEET BY THURSDAY MORNING. THE
  RIVER WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE BY THURSDAY MORNING.
* IMPACT…AT 15.0 FEET…THE CITY OF AUSTIN TAKES SPECIFIC ACTIONS TO
  WARN PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES.

Meanwhile Turtle Creek and Dobbins Creek are near their flood stage as well.  Here’s the latest on those two waterways:

412 AM CDT WED MAR 23 2011

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
  THE DOBBINS CREEK AT AUSTIN.
* FROM THIS MORNING TO THURSDAY EVENING.
* AT  3:30 AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 10.5 FEET.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 11.5 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST…RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE THIS MORNING AND CREST NEAR 12.0
  FEET THIS EVENING. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW
  FLOOD STAGE BY THURSDAY MORNING.

412 AM CDT WED MAR 23 2011

THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR
  THE TURTLE CREEK NEAR AUSTIN.
* AT  3:30 AM WEDNESDAY THE STAGE WAS 11.3 FEET.
* FLOOD STAGE IS 10.5 FEET.
* MINOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST…THE RIVER WILL CONTINUE RISING CREST NEAR 11.7 FEET
  THIS AFTERNOON. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE THURSDAY.
* IMPACT…AT 10.5 FEET…MINOR FLOODING BEGINS ALONG THE CREEK IN
  AUSTIN.

Posted under flooding

Yesterday officially marked the start of National Flood Safety Awareness Week.  This week is to bring attention to the dangers involving flooding and how to be safe if and when it occurs.  Flooding is the number 2 related weather killer in the United States each year and experts say a lot of the fatalities can be prevented.  A lot of the fatalities associated with flooding are from people using bad judgement.  You may have heard the slogan from the National Weather Service before…”Turn around don’t drown.”  That’s exactly what people don’t do and that’s where most of the fatalities come from…in automobiles.  A lot of times you can’t accurately judge how deep the water is, so you are better off to just turn around and not go through it.  It also only takes about 18 inches of flowing water to make a car or even a bigger truck float away and become powerless.  On some occasions, the rescue crews can’t make it to get you out of being trapped.  Using good judgement will not only save your life, but won’t put others lives at stake trying to save yours.

Flood awareness week comes at a time when flooding concerns around our area are rather high.  The melting snow pack combined with a chance of rain in the coming days increases this risk substantially.  If this snow pack melts at a face rate then flooding will likely occur on rivers and area creeks and streams.

Here is a link to the National Weather Service’s Flood Awareness Page!

Posted under flooding, minnesota, rainfall, spring, weather

For the most part – the situation is improving across the area. We still have roads closed (more info at KTTC.com); also,  flood warnings are still littered across the area, and run until anywhere from Sunday morning through mid next week. Check our weather page for more information on warnings for your area.

Here’s what’s going on with our immediate area rivers (i.e. Zumbro, Cedar, Cannon): generally, they have crested and will gradually start to fall over the next several days.  Other rivers to our west and north (i.e. the Minnesota) have yet to crest and are forecasted to rise through the weekend.

But – while the smaller rivers will fall, all the runoff will empty into the Mississippi River – so spots along the Mississippi River are forecasted to reach flood stage, possibly moderate flood stage, next week.

For more information, and for a look at hydrographs (maps that show the current and forecasted river levels at spots and times), you can visit the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Services page and click on the area you’re interested in.

Finally, if you have any flooding pictures, email them to weather@kttc.com, or upload them on our Facebook page. We hope you’re continuing to be safe. On a good note to end this blog entry, we have lots of dry weather in store for the next several days.

Posted under flooding, September 2010 Flooding

With the recent rapid melting of our snowpack, it’s a given that our streams and rivers are going to fill with run-off and ice. Check out the full story on the Root River ice jam here.

Posted under minnesota, winter weather