Alert archive / Minnesota / Flood Watches in 2025

Flood Watch 5, NWS La Crosse, WI

August 17, 2025Buffalo County, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin; 6 counties in Minnesota

NWS La Crosse, WI issued this flood watch at Aug 17, 2025, 3:00 PM CDT for Buffalo County, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin; 6 counties in Minnesota. It took effect at Aug 17, 2025, 10:00 PM CDT. It was in force for 12 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Aug 17, 2025, 3:00 PM CDT (20:00 UTC)
In effect from: Aug 17, 2025, 10:00 PM CDT
Expired: Aug 18, 2025, 10:00 AM CDT
In force: 12 hr
Issued by: NWS La Crosse, WI
Flood severity: None

Counties Dodge County, MN, Fillmore County, MN, Mower County, MN, Olmsted County, MN, Wabasha County, MN, Winona County, MN, Buffalo County, WI, Trempealeau County, WI

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:03 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 146 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 127 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -214 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 649 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 64 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 99 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flood watch went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flood watch went out at Aug 17, 1:43 PM CDT, 1 hour 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 1:43 PM CDT, 1 hour 17 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 17, 4:54 AM CDT, 10 hours 6 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service La Crosse WI
454 AM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025

IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-
032>034-041>044-053>055-061-181000-
Mitchell-Howard-Winneshiek-Allamakee-Floyd-Chickasaw-Fayette-
Clayton-Wabasha-Dodge-Olmsted-Winona-Mower-Fillmore-Houston-
Taylor-Clark-Buffalo-Trempealeau-Jackson-La Crosse-Monroe-Juneau-
Adams-Vernon-Crawford-Richland-Grant-
454 AM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southeast
Minnesota...northeast Iowa and southwest into central Wisconsin.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Storm chances increase overnight. Heavy rainfall rates with these
storms will be capable of flash flooding.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday

Widespread storms Monday linger in central Wisconsin Monday
night. Heavy rainfall with these storms will be capable of flash
flooding.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

No action needed.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION...

No webinar is scheduled.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 17, 10:11 AM CDT, 4 hours 49 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service La Crosse WI
1011 AM CDT Sun Aug 17 2025

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1010 AM     Rain             4 SE Lansing            43.32N 91.16W
08/17/2025  E6.25 Inch       Allamakee          IA   Public

&&

KB

The office that day

Everything else NWS La Crosse, WI issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 16, 7:38 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	ARX	Grant	3 hr
Aug 16, 10:58 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	ARX	Crawford	3 hr
Aug 17, 12:14 AM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ARX	Grant	2 hr
Aug 17, 2:37 AM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	ARX	Howard, Winneshiek	3 hr
Aug 17, 11:44 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	ARX	Mower	31 hr
Aug 17, 11:44 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	ARX	Mower	37 hr

Nearby

Flood Watches in Minnesota, 2025 Flood Watches in Wisconsin, 2025 Every flood watch in 2025

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.