Weeks of heavy rains over the Rainy Lake Basin in the spring and early summer caused water levels on the Rainy Lake to rise to levels not seen since the record flood in 1950. The highest water levels occurred in June, but the Lake was still high through much of July.
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 DLH wrote it up.
Weeks of heavy rains over the Rainy Lake Basin in the spring and early summer caused water levels on the Rainy Lake to rise to levels not seen since the record flood in 1950. The highest water levels occurred in June, but the Lake was still high through much of July.
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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 30, 11:17 PM CST, 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
1217 AM CDT TUE JUL 1 2014
.UPDATE...
ISSUED AT 636 PM CDT MON JUN 30 2014
SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS HAVE INCREASED IN COVERAGE OVER
OUR WESTERN CWA EARLY THIS EVENING. THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO THE
UPPER WAVE MOVING THROUGH THE NORTHLAND TONIGHT. THE LATEST HRRR
HAS A FAIRLY GOOD HANDLE ON THIS AREA OF SHOWERS/STORMS...AND IT
TAKES THE PRECIP FURTHER EAST INTO OUR CWA THAN CURRENTLY FORECAST. WE
WILL UPDATE AND PUSH POPS FURTHER EAST AS WELL INTO THE LATE
EVENING HOURS. LOSS OF INSTABILITY SHOULD LEAD TO DECREASING
COVERAGE OVER EASTERN AREAS LATE THIS EVENING.
&&
.SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY)
ISSUED AT 330 PM CDT MON JUN 30 2014
NEAR TERM FOCUS ON WINDS. THE STRONG GRADIENT AHEAD OF THE
APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL ALLOW FOR THE 30-35 KT WINDS TO
PERSIST THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING...WITH GUSTS DROPPING OFF
AFTER SUNSET. THE STRONGEST WINDS THIS EVENING WILL BE FOUND
ALONG THE WESTERN TIP OF LAKE SUPERIOR. NAM BUFR SOUNDINGS SHOW
THE COLD AIR PUSHES INTO THE BORDERLAND/IRON RANGE AFTER
MIDNIGHT...ALLOWING FOR GUSTY WINDS TO REDEVELOP. ELSEWHERE...THE
LEADING EDGE OF THE COLD AIR AND GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL ARRIVE
THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.
CURRENT VIS SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A VERTICALLY STACKED LOW
CONTINUES TO ROTATE OVER SRN MANITOBA. THIS LOW WILL BE THE FEATURE
OF INTEREST FOR THE NEXT 24-36 HOURS AS IT SLIDES EAST ALONG THE
CANADIAN BORDER...SWEEPING A STRONG COLD FRONT ACROSS THE REGION.
THE COLD FRONT WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY SCATTERED SHOWERS...GUSTY NW
WINDS AND PLUMMETING H85 TEMPS. LATEST ECM/GFS/GEM/NAM ALL SUGGEST
H85 READINGS FALL INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS ACROSS THE NORTHLAND BY
00Z WED. DUE TO THE UPPER LEVEL VORT MAX THAT WILL PASS OVER THE
REGION IN THE STRONG CYCLONIC FLOW AND COLD AIR ALOFT...HAVE
INCLUDED ISOLD THUNDER TOMORROW AFTERNOON.
.LONG TERM...(TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY)
ISSUED AT 330 PM CDT MON JUN 30 2014
AN AREA OF SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO PULL OFF TO THE SOUTH AND EAST
TUESDAY NIGHT...BASICALLY CLEARING OUR SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES BY 12Z
WEDNESDAY. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL THEN BUILD IN FOR WEDNESDAY
WITH DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION. SURFACE HIGH
PRESSURE AND UPPER LEVEL NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY
WITH CONTINUED DRY WEATHER. THE GFS AND THE GEM DO BRING SOME LIGHT
QPF THOUGH ON THURSDAY SO WE WILL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WATCH FOR THE
POSSIBILITY OF ADDING SOME SMALL POPS TO THAT PERIOD. MORE OF A
ZONAL FLOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BY FRIDAY. THE DIFFERENCES FOR
INDEPENDENCE DAY ARE RUNNING FAIRLY LARGE AT THIS POINT. THE ECMWF
ACTUALLY BRINGS A SIZABLE AREA OF QPF ACROSS THE CWA ON FRIDAY AND
FRIDAY NIGHT. THE GFS AND GEM ARE DRY. WILL HAVE SOME SMALL POPS
MOSTLY FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY BUT MAY NEED TO BUMP UP POPS IF THE
MODELS TREND IN THE DIRECTION OF THE ECMWF. LOOKS LIKE SUBTLE
FEATURES COULD SET OFF SOME SCATTERED PRECIPITATION OVER THE WEEKEND
AND EARLY NEXT WEEK AS WELL. THE MODELS ARE SHOWING SOME PRETTY BIG
DIFFERENCES THOUGH...SO CONFIDENCE IN ANY PARTICULAR SOLUTION IS
FAIRLY LOW. TEMPERATURES WILL LARGELY BE IN THE 70S THROUGHOUT THE
EXTENDED. THE COOLEST DAY WILL BE WEDNESDAY WITH HIGHS IN THE 60S
FOR MUCH OF THE AREA...BUT HIGHS WILL REACH THE LOWER 80S IN SPOTS
BY THE WEEKEND.
&&
.AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY NIGHT)
ISSUED AT 1217 AM CDT TUE JUL 1 2014
AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE REGION WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT THE
AREAS WEATHER THROUGH TUESDAY. MOST AREAS WILL SEE CEILINGS
REMAIN OR DROP TO MVFR WITH POCKETS TO IFR. LIGHT RAIN/DRIZZLE
WILL ALSO OCCUR TONIGHT OVER PORTIONS OF THE NORTHLAND AND OVER
MUCH OF THE AREA TUESDAY. WE KEPT CEILINGS MVFR ON TUESDAY...BUT
THERE ARE SOME INDICATIONS FROM THE RAP THAT THEY COULD RISE TO
LOW END VFR AT KDLH/KBRD/KHYR BY MID TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
HOWEVER...WITH THE COLD AIR ALOFT OVER THE AREA...WE FEEL THERE
WILL BE PLENTY OF CU/STRATOCU RESULTING IN A CONTINUED THREAT FOR
MVFR CEILINGS. GUSTY WEST/NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DLH 47 68 49 72 / 30 10 10 0
INL 43 69 46 74 / 20 0 10 0
BRD 49 72 50 75 / 20 10 0 0
HYR 49 73 45 74 / 20 10 10 0
ASX 49 69 47 71 / 30 10 10 0
&&
.DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MN...NONE.
WI...NONE.
LS...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM CDT EARLY THIS MORNING FOR
LSZ121-140>148.
&&
UPDATE...MELDE
SHORT TERM...GRANING
LONG TERM...DAP
AVIATION...GROCHOCINSKI/MELDEHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 848 PM CDT MON JUN 30 2014 MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-011030- KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE- NORTHERN ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-SOUTHERN LAKE/LAKESHORE- SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-NORTHERN CASS-SOUTHERN ITASCA- SOUTHERN CASS-CROW WING-NORTHERN AITKIN-SOUTHERN AITKIN- CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BAYFIELD-ASHLAND-IRON- BURNETT-WASHBURN-SAWYER-PRICE- 848 PM CDT MON JUN 30 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHWEST WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY. THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN FOR FRIDAY THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. THE PROBABILITY FOR SEVERE STORMS IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TONIGHT. LSZ121-140>148-011030- BAYFIELD TO OAK POINT WI-GRAND PORTAGE TO GRAND MARAIS MN- GRAND MARAIS TO TACONITE HARBOR MN- TACONITE HARBOR TO SILVER BAY HARBOR MN- SILVER BAY HARBOR TO TWO HARBORS MN-TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN- DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-PORT WING TO SAND ISLAND WI- SAND ISLAND TO BAYFIELD WI-OAK POINT TO SAXON HARBOR WI- 848 PM CDT MON JUN 30 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT GUSTY WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL OCCUR OVER LAKE SUPERIOR CREATING HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR SMALL CRAFT TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM IS POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY. GUSTY WEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE TUESDAY...AND COULD CREATE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR SMALL CRAFT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ONCE AGAIN OVER WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR FRIDAY THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. MELDE MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS: HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DULUTH (ALL LOWER CASE)
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
701 PM CDT MON JUN 30 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1232 PM HAIL 2 SW PROCTOR 46.72N 92.26W
06/29/2014 E0.75 INCH ST. LOUIS MN TRAINED SPOTTER
MAINLY 3/8 INCH BUT SOME WERE 3/4 INCH. DELAYED REPORT.
TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
&&
KLHThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
FEMA calculated that the county was eligible for $28,000 in assistance for debris cleanup and to repair public docks, roads, ditches, shoulders and bridges.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 2014
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: 534257, 534260.