Storms moved through NW Minnesota late Friday night, bringing strong winds, hail, heavy rain, and a reported tornado. Several areas North of I-94 added to already high rainfall totals. St. Cloud Airport broke a daily record after receiving 3.03” of rain. 

Due to the storms and heavy rainfall overnight Thursday into Friday, the intersection at 33rd Ave. S. between Hwy. 23 and Co. Rd. 75/2nd street in St. Cloud was flooded, making for difficult travel in that area. Motorists were being asked to find alternate routes if possible to avoid the flooded roadways that morning.

One spot in central Minnesota saw a double-digit rainfall total Thursday night into early Friday. Following is an excerpt from the Minnesota State Climatology Office post about the Thursday night downpours in central Minnesota:

“The storms built southward slowly, with new cells forming on the west side of the complex and moving over previously-hit areas. This led to prolonged and recurrent episodes of intense rainfall, with rain totals well in excess of three inches northwest of Little Falls, and also in St. Cloud and neighboring communities. A small area near Randall and Cushing received extraordinary rainfall totals, leading the closure of Hwy. 10 in both directions because of flooding in the area.” 

“The highest rainfall total received came from Soil & Water Conservation District rain gauge reader near Cushing, and will be marked as “11 inches,” because the observer had noted that the rain had reached the gauge’s 11-inch capacity and that additional rain was simply pouring out of it. It is not known how much more rain actually fell. Another observer from the same network in Randall recorded 7.40 inches.”

“In the St. Cloud area, a CoCoRaHS observer in Sartell reported 7.11 inches,  with 5.93 inches reported northwest of town, 5.50 and 4.86 inches in Sauk Rapids, 4.61 inches reported in St. Joseph, and 4.20 inches reported in St. Cloud proper. Through 9 a.m., the St. Cloud airport, which is several miles east of the city, recorded 3.81 inches.”

Cooler weather has defintely invaded Central Minnesota this week with highs in just the 80’s and lows from the 50’s to low 60’s. After last week’s torrid 90’s and 100’s, the coolness is quite refreshing as Minnesotans head into the dog days of summer.