Spring snowmelt runoff from upstream across northern and central Minnesota caused the Mississippi River in the Wabasha area to rise above flood stage. Only minor flooding was observed while the river level was above flood stage, with no damage reported.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 ARX wrote it up.
Spring snowmelt runoff from upstream across northern and central Minnesota caused the Mississippi River in the Wabasha area to rise above flood stage.
Only minor flooding was observed while the river level was above flood stage, with no damage reported.
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 22, 1:45 AM CST, 8 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 245 AM CDT MON MAR 22 2010 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT UPPER AIR/SURFACE MAP EARLY THIS MORNING HAD A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE EXTENDING FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS INTO WI WHILE A WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WAS PUSHING EASTWARD ACROSS MT INTO THE DAKOTAS. WV/IR SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING QUITE A BIT OF CIRRUS AHEAD OF THE LOW SPILLING INTO NORTHERN MN/NW WI. OTHERWISE...TEMPERATURES AT 2 AM ACROSS THE LOCAL FORECAST AREA RANGING FROM THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. 22.00Z NAM/GFS AS WELL AS THE 21.21Z SREF ALL IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT ON UPPER/SURFACE LEVEL SYNOPTICS THROUGH THE PERIOD. DRY TREND CONTINUES THROUGH TODAY/TONIGHT AS THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS IN CONTROL. ONLY QUESTION WILL BE HOW MUCH CIRRUS WILL WE SEE SPILL INTO THE AREA. LOOKING AT CURRENT WV/IR SATELLITE TRENDS...SEEMS LIKE THE BULK OF THE CIRRUS WILL STAY WHERE IT IS THIS MORNING AS IT ENCOUNTERS THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE RIDGE AXIS AND DIFFLUENT/STRETCHING DEFORMATION ZONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CLOSED LOW TO OUR SOUTHEAST. OTHERWISE...WITH AMPLE SUNSHINE OVER THE AREA...TEMPERATURES SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM PUSHING INTO THE MID/UPPER 50S. IT WILL BE ANOTHER DRY DAY AS WELL WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES CRASHING INTO THE 20-25 PERCENT RANGE...MAINLY EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. WILL SEE AN INNOCUOUS INCREASE IN CLOUDS//MAINLY CIRRUS// TONIGHT AS THE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVES OUT OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS INTO MN. FOR TUESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...WILL SEE THE MID-LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH AND WEAK SURFACE LOW PASS THROUGH THE AREA. TAKING A LOOK A BUFKIT DATA AND RH FIELDS FROM VARIOUS MODELS REVEALS A LACK OF GOOD/DEEP MOISTURE WITH THIS FEATURE. BOTTOM LINE RESULT SHOULD BE SOME MAINLY POST-FRONTAL STRATOCUMULUS IN THE 3-5KFT RANGE PASSING THROUGH FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...BUT ANY PRECIPITATION SEEMS UNLIKELY AT THIS POINT AS BETTER DYNAMICS/DEEPER COLUMN SATURATION TAKES PLACE FURTHER NORTH ACROSS UPPER MI/SOUTHERN ONTARIO. HAVE REMOVED RAIN MENTION FOR TUESDAY BASED ON THIS. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS BACK INTO THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY FOR MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES AND TEMPERATURES PUSHING UP INTO THE LOW/MID 50S. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY 22.00Z GFS/ECMWF IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE PERIOD. BOTH SHOW AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT PUSHING SOUTH INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION WITH OUR AREA REMAINING JUST WEST OF THIS COLD SURGE. LATEST MOS SHOWS WARMER MAX TEMPERATURES FOR US AS A RESULT...HAVE THEREFORE NUDGED HIGHS UPWARD IN THE GRIDDED DATABASE. COOLER CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE CONTROLS THE AREA THROUGH FRIDAY WITH HIGHS LIKELY TOPPING OFF IN THE MID 40S TO LOWER 50S. BOTH THEN SHOW A SIGNIFICANT MID-LEVEL TROUGH/STRONGER SURFACE LOW EJECTING OUT OF THE CENTRAL ROCKIES INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THIS WILL SPREAD A CHANCE OF RAIN INTO THE AREA SATURDAY...AND AS COOLER AIR FILTERS INTO THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...A CHANCE OF RAIN/SNOW. && .AVIATION...TODAY AND TONIGHT LOOK FOR VFR CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT AT BOTH TAF SITES WITH A DRY AIRMASS IN PLACE...ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH PRESSURE REMAINING NEARBY. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM... DAS AVIATION.......... RABERDING
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 500 AM CDT MON MAR 22 2010 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-231100- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE- MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 500 AM CDT MON MAR 22 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT RISES ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WILL PUSH SOME POINTS ABOVE FLOOD STAGE TODAY IN THE WABASHA AREA. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST HYDROLOGIC PRODUCTS SUCH AS FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR THE MOST UP TO DATE INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY LOCATIONS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER MAY APPROACH OR EXCEED FLOOD STAGE. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST HYDROLOGIC PRODUCTS SUCH AS FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR THE MOST UP TO DATE INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NO ACTION IS NEEDED. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED. RABERDING
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Mississippi River at Wabasha rose above the flood stage of 12 feet at 10:00 a.m. on March 22nd. It crested at 12.81 feet at 10:00 a.m. on March 26th, then fell below flood stage at 6:00 p.m. on March 31st.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, March 2010
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: 218483.