An area of intense thunderstorms dropped very heavy rains over south central Minnesota during the evening of August 17, and tapered off during the wee hours of the morning on August 18. The heaviest rain fell from 8:30-10:30pm in the Jackson area and from about 10pm to midnight in the St. James area. The heaviest rains were along the Martin and Watonwan border. The heaviest amount reported was around 8 inches in South Branch Township in South central Watonwan County.

There were some soggy basements and water in fields, but otherwise no widespread flooding was reported. The fact that the area was relatively dry before the rains may have helped.

The State Climatology Office thanks the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the National Weather Service, and all of the diligent volunteer precipitation observers who make analyses of these events possible.

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URL: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/flash_floods/ff050817_18.htm
Last modified: August 18, 2005