Minnesota, 2001

Flooding in Minnesota, April 5 to 30, 2001

April 5 to 30, 2001 · NWS FSD · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Flooding along the Des Moines River affected mainly farmland and undeveloped lowlands near the river. The river crested several times, with the highest readings during the last week of April, after heavy rain fell over the area.

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

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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 FSD wrote it up.

Flooding along the Des Moines River affected mainly farmland and undeveloped lowlands near the river. The river crested several times, with the highest readings during the last week of April, after heavy rain fell over the area. Some parkland was flooded in Windom.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 5, 2:30 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 2:30 AM CST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
330 AM CDT THU APR 5 2001

LO LVL MOISTR IN ABUNDANCE AND SHUD RESULT IN AREAS OF DRZZL AND
SOME FOG TDA. FOR NOW WILL NOT GO WITH ADVSY ON DNS FOG WITHG ONLY
HON AT A QUARTER MILE...BUT WILL BE DOING SOME CHECKNG AND MORE
LOOKG. SOME OF THE FOG WILL SPRD EWD OVER AREA THIS MRNG AS WK SFC
TROF MOES OVER ERN PART OF AREA. MODELS SHOW SOME MID LVL LIFT OVER
AREA TDA WITH MRGNL MID LVL MOISTR. WILL KEEP CHC SHWRS AND PRBLY
NOT GO ABV 30 PCT. SAME THNG FOR TNGT ON SHWRS XCP LATE TNGT SOME OF
THE FORCG FOR FRI EVENT GETS TO SRN EDGE OF AREA AND WILL GO SLGTLY
STGR THERE. FRI AND FRI NGT SHUD BE THE MAIN EVENT AND WILL GO
UNQUALIFIED POPS FOR SHWRS AND TSTMS. THO SOME HVY RAIN PSBL...THINK
FCST AS WRITTEN IMPLIES THIS AND WITH RPD CELL MOVEMNT A SURE BET
WILL NOT MENTN IN FCST FOR NOW. IF THERE ARE HVR RAINFALL AMNTS THEY
WILL BE DUE TO WDSPRD CVRG. AS FAR AS SVR...SRN/SERN EDGE OF FCST
AREA CUD BE RIPE DEPENDG ON MOISTR AVBLTY AS DISCUSSED IN SPC DAY 2
OUTLOOK. WILL MENTN JUST FOR THIS AREA FOR NOW. PLENTY OF TIME LEFT
TO GET MORE SPECIFIC WHEN DETAILS OF THIS EVENT COME INTO MORE CLEAR
AND DETAILED FOCUS. WILL BE CONSERVATIVE ON TEMPS WITH HVY CLD CVR
AND GO CLOSE TO GUIDNCE...A LTL WRMR ON LOWS TNGT. IF SYS REACHES
HEIGHT OF POTENTIAL STRNGTH AS FAR AS BRINGNG UP WRN AIR...SERN CRNR
CUD GET WRMR THAT WHAT WE HAVE FOR FRI BUT WITH DECNT RAIN EVENT
PSBL WILL HOLD TO LWR 60S SUX AREA ZNS FOR NOW. LTL CHANGE IN
EXTNDED FCST WITH ANOTHER SHOT SUN AND ANOTHER YEST MAYBE BY END OF
PD...IN ANY EVENT CURNT EXTNDED LOOKS AS GOnOD AS CAN BE AND AVN/MRF
DESPITE ITS USUAL DAY TO DAY SWINGS IS FAIRLY CONSISTNT WITH
YESTERDAYS RUN THIS TIME.

.FSD...NONE
WILLIAMS

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, Cottonwood

When
April 5, 6:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Cottonwood forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
44.007, -95.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Jackson

When
April 5, 6:00 AM CST to April 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
43.674, -95.154 (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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, April 2001

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: 5242863, 5242864.