Torrential Rains Douse South Metro
July 7 - 10, 2000

Torrential rains fell upon the Twin Cities metropolitan area during the weekend of July 7 - 10.

The spate of severe weather began during the morning of Friday, July 7 when severe storms rumbled through the east metro. High winds, hail, and possible tornadoes led to significant property damage.

The south metro, specifically the city of Eagan, received an extraordinary amount of precipitation later on the 7th, and during the early morning hours of Saturday, July 8. Over eight inches of rain fell in a three to five hour span across a small area of northern Dakota county. The climatological probability of receiving eight inches of rain in a five hour period for a given location in the metropolitan area, in a given year, is far less than 1%.

An additional two to three inches of rain drenched already sodden neighborhoods during the evening of July 8 and the early morning of Sunday, July 9. Light rainfall fell again late in the late evening of July 9 and the early morning hours of Monday, July 10. The highest reported weekend rainfall total was 11.33 inches in southeastern Eagan.

The heavy rains led to extensive damage in some south metro communities. Serious urban flooding was commonplace, and severe erosion was reported in many areas. One life was lost in a flood-related incident.

WSI radar-based precipitation estimate - July 8
WSI radar-based precipitation estimate - July 9
WSI radar-based precipitation estimate - July 10

Numerous requests have been made of the State Climatology Office for precipitation data describing this period. To aid investigators, we have compiled a table of all daily precipitation data archived by this office for Dakota County in July 2000.

(revised 1/9/01)

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URL: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/flash_floods/ff000710.htm
Last modified: January 9, 2001