Heavy rain, flash flood potential Monday morning

A slow moving frontal boundary is triggering thunderstorms with heavy to torrential downpours over the Twin Cities this Monday morning.

Flash flood warnings have been issued for portions of the metro by the Twin Cities National Weather Service.

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BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED

FLASH FLOOD WARNING

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

313 AM CDT MON JUL 6 2015

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE TWIN CITIES HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...SOUTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...NORTHWESTERN PIERCE COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN... SOUTHWESTERN ST. CROIX COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

* UNTIL 515 AM CDT

* AT 310 AM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN...WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY RAIN MOVING INTO THE AREA THAT WILL LIKELY PRODUCE ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES.

* SOME LOCATIONS THAT WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING INCLUDE...RIVER FALLS...WOODBURY...COTTAGE GROVE...INVER GROVE HEIGHTS...OAKDALE...HASTINGS...SOUTH ST. PAUL...HUDSON...LAKE ELMO...ST. PAUL PARK...PRESCOTT AND AFTON.

Expect localized roadway flooding and ponding of water in low spots for the Monday morning commute. A flash flood watch is in effect for the Twin Cities and much of southern Minnesota.

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ELK RIVER...CAMBRIDGE...CENTER CITY...LITCHFIELD...MONTICELLO...MINNEAPOLIS...BLAINE...ST. PAUL... STILLWATER...OLIVIA...HUTCHINSON...GAYLORD...CHASKA...SHAKOPEE...HASTINGS...REDWOOD FALLS...NEW ULM...ST. PETER...LE SUEUR...FARIBAULT...ST. JAMES...MANKATO...WASECA...FAIRMONT...BLUE EARTH

250 AM CDT MON JUL 6 2015

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON...

THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR

* PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA...EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA...MCLEOD...MEEKER... RENVILLE...SHERBURNE...SIBLEY AND WRIGHT. IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...ANOKA...CARVER...CHISAGO...DAKOTA...HENNEPIN...

ISANTI...RAMSEY...SCOTT AND WASHINGTON. IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA...BLUE EARTH...BROWN...FARIBAULT...LE SUEUR... MARTIN...NICOLLET...RICE...WASECA AND WATONWAN. IN SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...REDWOOD.

* UNTIL 1 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON

* 2 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN ARE LIKELY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. SOME LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OF 5 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE.

* FLASH FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS...CREEKS...STREAMS...AND URBAN AREAS IS POSSIBLE.

Radar has been tracking heavy thunderstorms overnight moving over the same areas. This echo "training" effect can produce extreme multi-inch rainfall totals in juts a few hours. Morris already picked up over 3" of rain and street flooding has been reported in St. Cloud.

  • ST Cloud [Stearns Co, MN] 911 CALL CENTER reports FLASH FLOOD at 12:20 AM CDT -- MULTIPLE VEHICLES WERE REPORTED STUCK IN HIGH WATER AT THE INTERSECTION OF 33RD AVENUE AND 8TH STREET NORTH.

  • Morris Airport [Stevens Co, MN] AWOS reports HEAVY RAIN of 3.68 INCH at 5 Jul, 10:14 PM CDT -- STORM TOTAL THROUGH 1014 PM.

706 msp

WASHINGTON-DAKOTA-ANOKA-RAMSEY-HENNEPIN-PIERCE-

214 AM CDT MON JUL 6 2015

...VERY HEAVY RAIN AND LOCALIZED MINOR FLOODING EXPECTED...

VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL AFFECT THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...

WASHINGTON...DAKOTA...ANOKA...RAMSEY...HENNEPIN...PIERCE...

AT 210 AM CDT...VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALIZED FLOODING WAS OVER MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL. RAINFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR ARE OCCURRING IN THE STRONGER STORMS.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...MINNEAPOLIS...ST. PAUL...BLOOMINGTON...BROOKLYN PARK...EAGAN...WOODBURY...MAPLE GROVE...COON RAPIDS...BLAINE...MAPLEWOOD...COTTAGE

GROVE AND INVER GROVE HEIGHTS.

THIS INCLUDES INTERSTATE 94 IN MINNESOTA BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 221 AND 258.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER IN URBAN AREAS...HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL AS OTHER POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAVEL ACROSS FLOODED ROADS. FIND ALTERNATE ROUTES. IT TAKES ONLY A FEW INCHES OF SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER TO CARRY VEHICLES AWAY.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

This system is also an active lightning producer. Check out the active cloud to ground strikes in the Twin Cities early this Monday morning.

706 lig
Lightningmaps.org

Expect scattered thunderstorms with rainfall of varying intensity this Monday morning. Plan accordingly.