Flooding in Minnesota, April 6 to 20, 1997

Name: Flooding in Minnesota, April 6 to 20, 1997
Start: 1997-04-06T06:00
End: 1997-04-20T06:00
Location: Minnesota

April 6 to 20, 1997 · NWS MPX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The St. 5 feet on 4/12/97.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MPX wrote it up.

The St. Croix River reached flood stage of 87 feet on 4/6/97 and crested at 90.5 feet on 4/12/97. This was the third highest crest ever measured. The river is monitored in Stillwater. The river fell below flood stage on 4/20/97. The Stillwater lift bridge was closed on 4/5/97 and reopened 4/18/97. More than 30 homes damaged by flooding in Bayport on Point Road, Lakeside Street and Minnesota Street. Street flooding also reported in Hudson. Lakefront Park in Hudson was inundated. Highway 10 between Prescott Wisconsin and far southern Denmark township in Washington county remained open due to slightly lower than anticipated crest and tenacious efforts by the Minnesota and Wisconsin Department of Transportation workers in building sand and gravel dikes.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Chisago

When: April 6, 6:00 AM CST to April 20, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Chisago forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.503, -92.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Washington

When: April 6, 6:00 AM CST to April 20, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.039, -92.884 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, April 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5602042, 5602043.