Minnesota, 1999

Flash Flooding in Minnesota, July 5, 1999

July 5, 1999 · NWS DLH · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

Heavy rain from thunderstorms forming and moving repeatedly across the same areas produced flash flooding from Itasca county across the southern two-thirds of St. Louis county, into the Arrowhead region of northeastern Minnesota.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
5

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 DLH wrote it up.

Heavy rain from thunderstorms forming and moving repeatedly across the same areas produced flash flooding from Itasca county across the southern two-thirds of St. Louis county, into the Arrowhead region of northeastern Minnesota. Many highways and hundreds of basements on the Iron Range and the North Shore were flooded. The tracks of several railroads were washed out. Duluth doppler radar gave rainfall estimates around 6 inches. In St. Louis county, road damage alone amounted to about $800,000. Cook county had $850,000 in damage, with $250,000 in Lake county, and $850,000 in Itasca county. The heavy rain also caused low oxygen levels in some area rivers, resulting in the death of thousands of fish.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Itasca

When
July 5, 12:30 AM CST to 4:30 AM CST
Where
Itasca County, Countywide
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, St. Louis

When
July 5, 12:30 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
St. Louis County, Central Portion
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, St. Louis

When
July 5, 2:20 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
St. Louis County, Southeast Portion
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lake

When
July 5, 2:20 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Lake County, South Portion
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.523, -91.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Cook

When
July 5, 4:10 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Cook County, South Portion
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
47.817, -90.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 1999

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: 5713149, 5713150, 5713151, 5713152, 5713153.