Flash Flooding and Flood in Minnesota, October 4 to 5, 2013

Name: Flash Flooding and Flood in Minnesota, October 4 to 5, 2013
Start: 2013-10-04T17:00
End: 2013-10-05T03:00
Location: Minnesota

October 4 to 5, 2013 · NWS ARX · 10 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: $35,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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 ARX wrote it up.

Thunderstorms developed during the evening of October 4th ahead of warm front that was lifting north out of Iowa. These storms produced locally heavy rains that caused flash flooding to occur across portions of Mower, Fillmore, Winona and Houston Counties. Mud slides closed roads between Pickwick and the city of Winona (Winona County) and washed out a portion of a county road northwest of Lanesboro (Fillmore County). Almost 6 inches of rain fell in about a six hour period in Preston (Fillmore County).

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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 4, 2:30 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 4, 2:30 PM CST, 2 hours 30 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>

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 4, 1:52 PM CST, 3 hours 8 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
252 PM CDT FRI OCT 4 2013

MNZ079-WIZ017-029-032>034-042>044-051200-
ADAMS-BUFFALO-CLARK-JACKSON-JUNEAU-MONROE-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-
WABASHA-
252 PM CDT FRI OCT 4 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA
AND WESTERN INTO NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE AREA
TONIGHT. BESIDES A LIGHTNING THREAT...THEY COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN
AT TIMES WITH A LOCALIZED FLOODING THREAT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN ON SATURDAY...
ESPECIALLY DURING THE MORNING HOURS. THERE COULD BE SOME ADDITIONAL
HEAVY RAIN...WHICH COULD LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING DEPENDING ON HOW
MUCH RAIN OCCURS BEFORE THEN.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TONIGHT OR SATURDAY...
BUT RAINFALL AMOUNTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION...

NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED.

IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ086>088-094>096-WIZ041-053>055-061-
051200-
ALLAMAKEE-CHICKASAW-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE-FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-
GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-LA CROSSE-MITCHELL-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-
VERNON-WINNESHIEK-WINONA-
252 PM CDT FRI OCT 4 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST
MINNESOTA...NORTHEAST IOWA...AND SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP OR MOVE INTO THE
AREA TONIGHT. SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS WILL HAVE HEAVY RAIN WHICH
COULD LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING...ALONG WITH LIGHTNING.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP WEST AND SOUTHWEST OF
THE AREA THIS EVENING AS WELL. THEY COULD MOVE INTO THE AREA DURING
THE LATER EVENING HOURS...BETWEEN 7 AND 11 PM...WITH A THREAT FOR
LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND. THE OVERALL SEVERE WEATHER RISK
APPEARS TO BE LOWERING BUT CANNOT BE RULED OUT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

THERE COULD BE SOME THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN SATURDAY...MAINLY ALONG AND
EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER...AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS
THE AREA. HEAVY RAIN REMAINS POSSIBLE SATURDAY...WHICH COULD LEAD TO
LOCALIZED FLOODING. A FEW STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS BEFORE QUICKLY MOVING OFF TO THE EAST.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

ACTIVATION OF A FEW STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY STILL BE NEEDED THIS
EVENING IF STORMS BECOME STRONG ENOUGH...ESPECIALLY THOSE WEST OF
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. AGAIN...THE OVERALL RISK LOOKS LOWER THAN
PREVIOUSLY FORECAST.

RAINFALL AMOUNTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION...

NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED.

RRS/SHEA

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 140 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy rain, 3 flash flood, 1 flood, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Mower

When: October 4, 5:00 PM CST to 11:45 PM CST
Where: Mower County, 1 mi W of Austin
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.670, -92.950

In Austin, 2.36 inches of rain was measured.

Heavy Rain, Fillmore

When: October 4, 5:30 PM CST to October 5, 1:24 AM CST
Where: Fillmore County, 0.69 mi S of Preston
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.670, -92.080

In almost a six hour period, 5.85 inches of rain fell in Preston.

Heavy Rain, Winona

When: October 4, 6:45 PM CST to October 5, 2:00 AM CST
Where: Winona County, 1.21 mi SE of Dresbach
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.870, -91.310

At Lock and Dam 7 near La Crescent, 3.35 inches of rain was measured.

Heavy Rain, Houston

When: October 4, 7:30 PM CST to October 5, 1:30 AM CST
Where: Houston County, Mound Prairie
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.780, -91.450

In Mound Prairie, 2.56 inches of rain was measured.

Heavy Rain, Houston

When: October 4, 7:30 PM CST to October 5, 1:30 AM CST
Where: Houston County, Houston
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.770, -91.570

In Houston, 2.31 inches of rain was measured.

Flash Flood, Mower

When: October 4, 11:15 PM CST to October 5, 12:15 AM CST
Where: Mower County, 0.94 mi SSW of Mapleview to 0.98 mi SSW of Mapleview
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.667, -92.986

Heavy rain flooded an underpass along Oakland Avenue in Austin.

Flood, Houston

When: October 5, 12:39 AM CST to 1:45 AM CST
Where: Houston County, 1.01 mi WNW of La Crescent to 0.52 mi SE of River Jct
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.836, -91.299

Heavy rains caused minor street flooding in La Crescent.

Flash Flood, Winona

When: October 5, 1:00 AM CST to 3:00 AM CST
Where: Winona County, 1.05 mi SW of Goodview to 0.3 mi ESE of Homer
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 44.061, -91.717

U.S. Highway 61 was closed near Pickwick by a mud slide with numerous other slides over the highway reported. A semi truck became trapped between two of the slides. Multiple streets were closed by flooding in Goodview and the city of Winona.

Flash Flood, Winona

When: October 5, 1:30 AM CST to 3:00 AM CST
Where: Winona County, 1.05 mi SE of Homer to 0.71 mi SSE of Homer
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.009, -91.555

County Road 15 near Pickwick was closed due to numerous mud slides. At least two trees were pushed over County Road 17 by mud slides.

Lightning, Winona

When: October 5, 2:00 AM CST to 3:00 AM CST
Where: Winona County, 0.5 mi W of Winona
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.050, -91.660

Lightning struck a power pole causing a line to fall onto 3 buildings. All three buildings then caught on fire.

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
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.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, October 2013

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: 476863, 476101, 476864, 476861, 476862, 476119, 476121, 476124, 476116, 476117.