Severe thunderstorms deposited very heavy rainfall on portions of the Twin Cities metropolitan area in a short period of time resulting in severe basement and street flooding and a number of collapsed basements. 5 inches at St.
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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.
The episode as NWS MPX wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms deposited very heavy rainfall on portions of the Twin Cities metropolitan area in a short period of time resulting in severe basement and street flooding and a number of collapsed basements. Heavy rainfall amounts in less than one hour included 5.2 inches at Woodbury, 4.5 inches at Brooklyn Center, 3.5 inches at St. Louis Park, 3.4 inches at Stillwater, 3.0 inches in Lauderdale and 2.9 inches in Minneapolis. Portions of Interstates 94, 494, and 35 flooded in Minneapolis, floating cars and stranding motorists. Stores were flooded in the Mall of America. Hospital transformer shorted out due to basement flooding in Minneapolis. Five million dollars damage done to Edison High School in Minneapolis. Water to a height of 6 feet caused basement walls to collapse, destroying classrooms, kitchen, boiler room, gymnasium and band instruments. 39 homes flooded in the Hoyt Avenue area of St. Paul. Water levels reached 8 feet in some basements. 5 homes were condemned. Several streets collapsed in St. Paul. Apartment building roof collapsed injuring one woman in St. Paul. Milton Square retail center in St. Anthony Park flooded to height of 5 feet. Foot bridges washed away at Highland Golf Course in St. Paul. Basement and street flooding also reported in St. Louis Park, Woodbury, Mound, Brooklyn Park, St. Anthony and Stillwater. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport closed for 90 minutes.
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:43 UTC.
6 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rainfall in brief period of time resulted in flash flooding causing the Crow River to overflow its banks and flood highway 22 north of Glencoe.
Estimate of four inches of rain in less than one hour. Major damage to wastewater treatment facility under construction.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 1997
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: 5614872, 5614873, 5614869, 5614870, 5614874, 5614871.