September 2010 flash flooding in Minnesota and Wisconsin put towns underwater and forced evacuations in southern

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and central

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. A strong system caused the heavy rain and

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

ing in the Upper Midwest.Chris Dolce
Flooding Hits the Upper Midwest
, Weather.com, September 26, 2010

Causes

Several waves of

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

s associated with a slow-moving warm front produced unusually heavy

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

throughout the region beginning in the early afternoon of September 22 and continuing until the evening of September 23. Tropical moisture moving northward from remnants of tropical storm Georgette in the eastern Pacific and Hurricane Karl in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

contributed to heavy rainfall.September 22-23, 2010: Significant Rainfall and Widespread Flooding Across Southern Minnesota and Wisconsin
National Weather Service Central Region Headquarters. Accessed February 12, 2011. The highest rainfall reported for the two-day period in Minnesota was , recorded by a volunteer observer near

Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...

in Faribault County. The highest official

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

report was , observed at

Amboy Amboy may refer to: Places * Amboy, Córdoba, village in Calamuchita Department, Córdoba province, Argentina United States * Amboy Crater, feature in Mojave National Preserve, California Settled U.S. places * Amboy, California * Amboy, Ge ...

Blue Earth County Blue Earth County is a county in the State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,112. Its county seat is Mankato. The county is named for the Blue Earth River and for the deposits of blue-green clay once evident along the ...

. Most locations in southern Minnesota reported more than , with numerous locations recording or more.Heavy Rainfall - September 22-23, 2010
, Minnesota Climatology Working Group, State Climatology Office, DNR Division of Ecological and Water Resources, University of Minnesota. Accessed February 12, 2011 The areal extent of extreme rainfall was unusually large; more than in Minnesota received more than .

River stages and flooding

Soil moisture levels in the affected region were high prior to the storms, increasing

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

. Water levels in area rivers rose beginning on September 23 and for several days thereafter, with some of the highest water levels occurring a week after the heavy rains. The

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

crested at a record-high stage at

Henderson, Minnesota Henderson is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, United States. The population in was 886 at the 2010 census. History Henderson was founded in August 1852 by Joseph R. Brown, and was named for his mother's maiden name. By 1855, Henderson ha ...

, and near-record river stages were recorded on the Minnesota River at New Ulm,

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, Shakopee, and

Savage Savage may refer to: Places Antarctica * Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land * Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Savage Ridge, Victoria Land United States * Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community * Savage, Minnesota, a city * Savage, Mi ...

. Records were also broken on the Cannon River and the Zumbro River in Minnesota and

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

Babcock, Wisconsin Babcock is an census-designated place located in Wood County, Wisconsin, United States. Babcock is southwest of Wisconsin Rapids, in the town of Remington. Babcock has a post office with ZIP code 54413. As of the 2010 census, its population is ...

, near-record flood crests were recorded on the

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, Trempealeau, and

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskousi ...

s in Wisconsin. On September 29, the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

at St. Paul rose above

flood stage Flood stage is the water level or stage at which the surface of a body of water has risen to a sufficient level to cause sufficient inundation of areas that are not normally covered by water, causing an inconvenience or a threat to life and property ...

, marking the first time since record-keeping began in 1893 that the river exceeded flood stage during the autumn months. River flooding in the region is typically associated with spring

snowmelt In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many part ...

. Flooding forced evacuations in communities including

New Richland New Richland is a city in Waseca County, Minnesota, United States. The city was founded in 1877. The population was 1,203 at the 2010 census. History New Richland was platted in 1877, taking its name from New Richland Township, which was na ...

, Owatonna, Pine Island, Zumbro Falls,

Hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

, and Waseca, Minnesota, and

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

and Black River Falls, Wisconsin.Associated Press
Flooding Eases in Parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, But Some Communities Still Struggle
September 25, 2010. Retrieved from FoxNews.com, February 12, 2011.Flooding Forces Evacuations, Road Closures in Southern Minnesota
September 23, 2010Karen Scullin
Flood Damage, Disruption in Southern Minnesota; I-35 closed, more flooding expected
FOX 9 News, September 24, 2010 Some major roads, including portions of

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

and roads in the southwestern Twin Cities metropolitan area, were closed due to high water levels on rivers. As floodwaters moved downstream, high water levels on the

closed some major roads in and around Stevens Point in central Wisconsin.

Damages

As of September 24, there had been no deaths or injuries from the flooding. However, the heavy rainfall and flooding caused significant adverse effects on

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

production in the region by delaying fall

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

ing and reducing

crop yield In agriculture, the yield is a measurement of the amount of a crop grown, or product such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land. The seed ratio is another way of calculating yields. Innovations, such as the use of fertilizer, the c ...

s. University of Minnesota Extension estimated that over of the state's

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

and

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

fields were covered by standing water for several hours or longer. In Wisconsin, the September rains and flooding contributed to a poor quality

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

crop and the failure of a large fraction of the state's

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

crop. As of September 29, Wisconsin authorities reported that flooding had destroyed three homes and caused more than $4.6 million in damages to public infrastructure. A preliminary assessment of damages in Minnesota estimated their total cost as $64.1 million and identified 80 homes as having been destroyed.

Disaster declarations

The

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

s of Minnesota and Wisconsin declared states of emergency during the flooding.Mark Guarino
Swamped Midwestern towns prepare for more flooding
'' Christian Science Monitor'', September 25, 2010 On October 13, 2010, the

U.S. federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 ...

declared the flooding to have been a "major disaster" in a 21-county region of Minnesota.President Declares Major Disaster For Minnesota
, press release,

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

, October 13, 2010 Eight additional Minnesota counties were added to the disaster area declaration on October 19.Eight Additional Counties Now Eligible For Federal Aid
, press release,

, October 19, 2010 Nine Wisconsin counties were included in a disaster declaration on October 21.President Declares Major Disaster For Wisconsin
, press release,

, October 21, 2010 These declarations made local governments and some

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s in the affected region eligible for

financial assistance to cover 75 percent of their costs for emergency work and repair or replacement of damaged facilities.

References

{{Reflist 2010 floods in the United States Floods in the United States Natural disasters in Minnesota Natural disasters in Wisconsin 2010 in Minnesota 2010 in Wisconsin