Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 16:43:27 EDT
Summary: Flooding in southern Minnesota has expanded and intensified.
Flooding in southern Minnesota has intensified and expanded as a result of 3-8 inches of rain the last 24 hours and up to 14 inches in the last 7 days. 1-3 inches is forecast tonight, with locally heavier amounts possible. Flooding now spans tributaries to the Minnesota, Missouri and Iowa Rivers, and Mississippi River tributaries downstream, within, and immediately upstream of the Twin Cities. The Red River Basin tributaries are rising. In northern Minnesota the flood recession continues in the Rainy River basin along the Canadian Border.
To date 4 streamgages with 28-85 years of record have provisional peaks of record. Four streamgages have annual exceedance probabilities of less than 1 percent. Ratings have been extended at 2 streamgages based on measurements, and two more will likely be extended tomorrow.
USGS flood activities today include field operations and communicating with emergency agencies. Four crews are deployed in southern Minnesota. Activities include flood measurements, inspecting gages and making repairs or flagging high water marks. Communication today included NWSChat, State agencies, and local emergency managers and watershed district staff. The NWS North Central River Forecast Center has increased staffing to 24/7 operations and USGS plan to have field staff deployed over the weekend.