Flooding in Minnesota, October 4 to 5, 2005

Name: Flooding in Minnesota, October 4 to 5, 2005
Start: 2005-10-04T23:00
End: 2005-10-05T17:00
Location: Minnesota

October 4 to 5, 2005 · NWS MPX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

5 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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: 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 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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 4, 1:21 PM CST, 9 hours 39 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 4, 1:21 PM CST, 9 hours 39 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
221 PM CDT TUE OCT 4 2005

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY
FRONT HAS SAGGED A LITTLE SWRD TDA...AND CURRENTLY SITS ON A LN FM
NR JYG TO LVN TO EAU. CONVECTION HAS BEEN ONGOING THE ENTIRE DAY
ACRS MUCH OF THE FA...ESPECIALLY N OF THE TWIN CITIES AND ACRS MY W
CNTRL WI COUNTIES. THE ACTIVITY OVR THE NRN CWA IS ASSOC WITH H8
FRONTOGENESIS EVIDENT IN THE OBSERVED WIND FIELD FM THE 12Z RGNL
RAOBS...AS WELL AS A S/W TROF EVIDENT IN ERN SD.

BNDRY SHUD NOT MAKE TOO MUCH MORE SWRD PROGRESS...AS THE LONGWAVE
TROF OVR THE WRN ROCKIES AND THE PAC NW APPROACHES...AND GIVES THE
SFC LO IN CO A NEWRD KICK. AS THE SFC LO MOVES INTO THE CNTRL
PLAINS...THE FRONT WL MOV NWRD AS A WARM FRONT. ANOTHER S/W TROF WL
INTERACT WITH THE FRONT TNGT /PRIMARILY OVR THE NRN FA/...WHICH WL
CONT THE WIDESPREAD TSRA. HAVE EXPANDED THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH TO
TAKE IN ALL OF OUR FA...DUE TO THE PLACEMENT OF THIS S/W AND THE
LOCATION OF THE H8 FRONT.

DRY SLOT WL SLIDE INTO THE SRN PART OF THE FA ON THE HEELS OF THE
ASSOC COLD FRONT BY MIDDAY WED AS THE SFC LO MOVES INTO N CNTRL WI.
THIS WL BRING AN END TO THE WIDESPREAD PCPN...BUT SHWRY PCPN REMAINS
A LIKELIHOOD WITH THE WRAPAROUND ENERGY/MOISTURE. GFS BUFR PROFILES
CONT TO SUPPORT THE POSSIBILITY OF SNOW SHWRS ACRS THE NRN FA LATE
WED EVE AND INTO THU MRNG.

STRONG CAA FOLLOWS THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE...AS WELL...BUT
ATTM...THE PROGGED H8 WIND SPEEDS ARE NOT SUPPORTIVE OF SFC WIND
SPEEDS MEETING WIND ADVY CRITERIA ON WED AND WED NGT /AT LEAST ON
THE GFS/. LATER SHIFTS WL HAVE TO MONITOR THIS SITUATION CLOSELY.
WHETHER THESE CRITERIA ARE MET OR NOT...WED/WED NGT WL STILL BE
BREEZY...AND THE CURRENT FCST REFLECTS THAT.

DRY AND COLD WX WL PREVAIL THRU THE LATTER PART OF THE WK...AS SFC
HI PRES TAKES HOLD OF THE RGN. TEMPS WILL REBOUND A LITTLE ON
FRI...AS THE UPR LO MOVES E OF THE FA.

.LONGER TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
THE 00Z ECMWF AND THE 12Z GFS LOOK VERY SIMILAR HEADING THROUGH THE
WEEKEND. A LARGE AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE PULLING OFF TO THE
EAST. A WARM UP WILL ENSUE. A RATHER DEEP TROUGH IS FORECAST ALOFT
TO SPREAD INTO THE ROCKIES EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH A CUTOFF LOW FORMING
OVER THE FOUR CORNERS. WHILE THIS IS OCCURRING...AN INVERTED TROUGH
AT THE SURFACE WILL DEVELOP OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS. WITH THE DEEP
SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT...IT LOOKS LIKE THE CHANCES FOR RAIN WILL BE
SLOW TO SPREAD ACROSS THE CWA MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. THEREFORE
WILL STAY THE COURSE WITH THE CURRENT LOW CHANCE POP FORECAST.

&&

.MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THRU 12Z WED MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-
082>085-091>093.
WI...FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 12Z WED WIZ014>016-023>028.

&&

KAT/RAH

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 4, 1:22 PM CST, 9 hours 38 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
222 PM CDT TUE OCT 4 2005

MNZ041-042-047-048-054>056-064-051121-
CHIPPEWA-DOUGLAS-LAC QUI PARLE-POPE-STEVENS-SWIFT-TODD-
YELLOW MEDICINE-
222 PM CDT TUE OCT 4 2005

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM WEDNESDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED TODAY AND
TONIGHT ACROSS WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL
ACCOMPANY SOME OF THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH WEDNESDAY
MORNING...LEADING TO A POTENTIAL FLOODING SITUATION. HENCE A FLASH
FLOOD WATCH COVERS THE AREA THROUGH 7 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING. IN
ADDITION...A SEVERE STORM WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND CAN NOT
BE RULED OUT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE
REGION WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY
THURSDAY. A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED. TAKE TIME TODAY TO SECURE
OUTDOOR OBJECTS THAT MAY BE BLOWN AWAY LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

MNZ043>045-049>053-057>063-065>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-
WIZ014>016-023>028-051121-
ANOKA-BARRON-BENTON-BLUE EARTH-BROWN-CARVER-CHIPPEWA-CHISAGO-DAKOTA-
DUNN-EAU CLAIRE-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-GOODHUE-HENNEPIN-ISANTI-KANABEC-
KANDIYOHI-LE SUEUR-MARTIN-MCLEOD-MEEKER-MILLE LACS-MORRISON-NICOLLET-
PEPIN-PIERCE-POLK-RAMSEY-REDWOOD-RENVILLE-RICE-RUSK-SCOTT-SHERBURNE-
SIBLEY-ST CROIX-STEARNS-STEELE-WASECA-WASHINGTON-WATONWAN-WRIGHT-
222 PM CDT TUE OCT 4 2005

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM WEDNESDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED TODAY AND
TONIGHT ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...AS WELL AS
WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ACCOMPANY SOME
OF THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...LEADING TO A POTENTIAL FLOODING
SITUATION. HENCE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH COVERS THE AREA THROUGH 7 AM
WEDNESDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION...A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD BECOME
SEVERE AND CONTAIN LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE
REGION LATE WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY
THURSDAY. A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED. TAKE TIME TODAY TO SECURE
OUTDOOR OBJECTS THAT MAY BE BLOWN AWAY LATE WEDNESDAY INTO
THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

RAH

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 4, 6:56 PM CST, 4 hours 4 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Oct 4, 7:19 PM CST, 3 hours 41 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Oct 4, 7:32 PM CST, 3 hours 28 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Oct 4, 7:45 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Oct 4, 8:01 PM CST, 2 hours 59 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Oct 4, 9:22 PM CST, 1 hour 38 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Mille Lacs

When: October 4, 11:00 PM CST to October 5, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Mille Lacs forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 45.938, -93.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

In Mille Lacs County, County Roads 1 and 2 flooded, and the intersection of Keystone Road and 110th Avenue was also under water. In Kanabec County, water was over the road on County Road 11 at 153rd Avenue, and County Road 11 was barricaded for awhile in the City of Mora. County Road 47 was barricaded near Lewis Lake. Water was also over the roads in the southern portion of Kanabec county, but did not warrant barricades. In Isanti County, Spencer Brook and the Rum River (in the area of Spencer Brook) flooded beyond its banks. Two roads were under water, and two cabins were partially flooded near the Rum River bridge (off of 307th Ave, from northwest to west of County road 7). The roads under water were Whiting Street NW and 307th Ave. NW. In Chisago County, Interstate I-35 Southbound near Rush City and County Road 30 remained shut down for many hours. One to three feet of water was reported over roads between Rush City and North Branch. An official disaster was called by county officials. Ten to fifteen homes in Rush City had water up to their foundations and many streets were flooded. Five families were evacuated from an apartment building near the Rush City elementary school. The lower portion of the apartment complex incurred water damage to carpeting and wall board. Several townhomes in South Field Estates saw extensive flooding. One elderly woman in this area had to be rescued by boat during the overnight of the 4th. Harte Avenue near Jacobson Elementary School was completely flooded and remained so into the morning of the 5th. Due to the standing water, school was cancelled for the day. Homes were sandbagged on 2nd Street in Rush City. Many fields in the Rush City Area and sod fields near North Branch had standing water into the morning of the 5th. In Washington County, Streets and Basements were flooded across much of the county. Water rose up to four feet over lakes, streets and homes in some areas. The Woodbury Mayor signed a Declaration of Emergency during the early morning hours on the 5th.

Flood, Chisago

When: October 4, 11:00 PM CST to October 5, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Chisago forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 45.000, -93.483

Flood, Isanti

When: October 4, 11:00 PM CST to October 5, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Isanti forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 45.562, -93.295 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Kanabec

When: October 4, 11:00 PM CST to October 5, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Kanabec forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.667, -92.083

Flood, Washington

When: October 4, 11:00 PM CST to October 5, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.667, -95.150

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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, October 2005

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5477520, 5477521, 5477522, 5477523, 5477524.