5 comments

  2. Note: this page will be updated periodically until the major flood risk subsides in Minnesota.

    Parts of Minnesota hardest-hit by the major drought of 2021 became extremely wet during the 2022 spring, leading to high stream and lake levels in northern parts of the state, where some areas have experienced historic flooding.

    Frequent late-winter snowstorms gave way to frequent rains, and then to bouts of heavy thunderstorms during May. Through June 19, year-to-date precipitation at International Falls was 18.53 inches, which is almost two times times greater than the 1991-2020 normal year-to-date precipitation of 9.47 inches, and 11% wetter than the next-wettest year on record (2014, which had 16.69 inches through June 19). Of Minnesota's other primary "first-order" stations, all but the Twin Cities have above-normal precipitation so far for the year.

    Across Minnesota, only small pockets of southern, western, and central Minnesota have seen below-normal precipitation for the year so far, with near-normal precipitation accounting for a slightly larger area around it. The other approximately 75% of the state has been wet to extremely wet, with the wettest conditions beginning in middle-late March and continuing into May, and concentrated along Minnesota's northwestern, northern, and northeastern edges. The Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, high in the hills above Lake Superior, had the most precipitation in the state through June 19, with 21.64 inches, followed by Goodridge, with 20.01 inches, and Grand Portage, with 19.94 inches. In northwestern and northern Minnesota, precipitation to date has been two to as much as five times greater than through this time in 2021.

    These wet conditions have led to high water and flooding throughout central and northern Minnesota, with major and historic flood conditions in far northern Minnesota, along and near the Rainy River. Additional high flows have occurred on the east side of the Laurentian Divide, with streams like the Pigeon River, which flow into Lake Superior, breaking longstanding records. With over 100 years of data, the Pigeon River set its all-time flow record. Major flooding has also affected the Red River on the Minnesota/North Dakota border, though this flooding has not been as historically significant as the floods in far northern and northeastern Minnesota.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *