A month’s worth of rain, flash flood watch extended
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Some Minnesotans are waking up to more than a month's worth of rain this morning.
Moderate to heavy rainfall continued in many locations overnight. The Willmar and Olivia areas west of the Twin Cities have picked up 6" to 8" rainfall totals in the past 24 hours. Average summer monthly rainfall is about 4" in southern Minnesota, so that's nearly two months' worth of rain in under 24 hours.
There are reports of street flooding and some wall collapses in Willmar and Olivia.
Here's an early list of some impressive rainfall totals courtesy of the Twin Cities NWS.
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Flash flood watch extended
The Twin Cities NWS has extended the flash flood watch for southern Minnesota until 1 am Friday.
FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
428 AM CDT THU AUG 11 2016
...THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING CONTINUES INTO TONIGHT...
.A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...AS WELL ADJOINING AREAS OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN... UNTIL 10 AM CDT THURSDAY MORNING. THE WATCH WAS EXTENDED INTO TONIGHT FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND ADJOINING AREAS OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE TWIN CITIES METROPOLITAN AREA...EAU CLAIRE...MANKATO AND ALBERT LEA.
PERIODS OF THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING. EXPECT REDEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE AFTERNOON AND SPREADING OVER MUCH OF FAR SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN THROUGH MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. AN ABNORMALLY HIGH WATER CONTENT IN THE ATMOSPHERE WILL LEAD TO RAINFALL RATES OF 2 INCHES OR MORE PER HOUR. MUCH OF THE AREA HAS ALREADY SEEN 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OVERNIGHT. ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL ONLY INCREASE THE FLASH FLOOD THREAT INTO TONIGHT ACROSS THE WATCH AREA.
Heavy rain potential shifting south?
The sump pump symphony continues across southern Minnesota today. The Twin Cities catches a break this morning from the steadier, heavier rains, but redevelopment may occur this afternoon.
The core of the heaviest rainfall appears to be shifting south today. The best chance for flooding rains is focused along the I-90 corridor in southern Minnesota and into northern Iowa.
NOAA's NAM 4 km resolution model picks up on the trend for training storms that may produce more multi-inch rainfall totals in southern Minnesota today and tonight. Six inches of rain somewhere near Rochester? It could happen.
Drying out this weekend
A cooler and much drier Canadian air mass pushes south this weekend. That shoves the rains off to the east, away from waterlogged Minnesota.
Enjoy the cooler and sunnier weekend ahead!
