Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

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Thirty-two years ago today, the Twin Cities Superstorm dumped 10 inches of rain on the south and west metro. It still stands as the biggest rainfall event in the Twin Cities’ history. More than two month’s worth of rainfall fell in a few hours. 

The total amount of rainfall that night that fell on the Twin Cities was enough to fill Lake Bde Maka Ska 80 times.

Here’s a clip from local news media on the storm.

The setup for a flash flood that night was already in place. Heavy rains had already soaked soils on July 20. A stalled front set up across the Twin Cities on July 23. Storms that erupted along the front “trained” over the same areas like boxcars on a passing train.

The heaviest rainfall axis laid out across the western and southern Twin Cities.

 from the Minnesota DNR Climatology Working Group:

Rainfall totals exceeded 6 inches in just a few hours across a large area. The rapid rainfall rates lead the Minnesota State Climatology Office to comment that this storm generated a 1-in-1000-plus year recurrence interval.

The flood event damaged about 7,000 homes in the Twin Cities. Damage costs tallied near $30 million.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

The Twin Cities’ biggest rainstorm on record was 32 years ago today.

Huttner, Paul

1987 storm analysis via from Minnesota State Climatology Office.

1987 Superstorm still No. 1

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