Runoff from several heavy rain events caused flooding to occur along the Mississippi River in late May. The river went out of its banks at Wabasha (Wabasha County) and Winona (Winona County).
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.
Runoff from several heavy rain events caused flooding to occur along the Mississippi River in late May. The river went out of its banks at Wabasha (Wabasha County) and Winona (Winona County).
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 May 21, 2:13 PM CST, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service La Crosse WI 313 PM CDT Sun May 21 2017 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday) Issued at 313 PM CDT Sun May 21 2017 Main impactful weather concerns in the short term are on thunderstorm chances Monday afternoon and evening with potential for a few stronger storms. Light rain and areas of drizzle will gradually lift north tonight, but a secondary shortwave rotating around an upper low will move through this evening into the overnight. This wave will generate a few light showers across areas north of Interstate 90. The main forecast concern will be on Monday as a frontal boundary and upper level trough dive into the region. Afternoon surface based CAPE values look to climb into the 500-700 J/kg range. 0-6 km bulk shear values are expected to be in the 15 to 30 kt range with 0-6 km bulk shear values of 35 to 40 kts by the time the storms form. However, the strongest shear appears to be exiting the area as the CAPE builds from the late afternoon into the evening. So what is initially potential supercell shear early in the day weakens to the point where storms will likely struggle to organize. Freezing levels are fairly low at around 7 kft. So, the main severe weather threat will mostly likely be some large hail (up to quarter size?) and possibly some gusty winds given a dry sub-cloud layer/inverted v type of soundings. The main area of concern in along and south of the Interstate 90 corridor. .LONG TERM...(Monday night through Sunday) Issued at 313 PM CDT Sun May 21 2017 Low pressure will slowly slide south across the region late Monday night through Tuesday night with continued chances for showers. Weak CAPE attempts to build over the area Tuesday afternoon so we may see some isolated thunderstorms. We stay in weak cyclonic flow aloft going into Wednesday with continued chances for rain showers. We will finally see a break in the rain chances on Thursday as ridging moves across the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Then another trough pushes through the region late Thursday night into Friday. This feature looks to bring showers and perhaps some thunderstorms to the region. Temperatures take a slight trend upward for the weekend with highs climbing into the 70s at many locations. Another trough could bring showers and thunderstorms to the region but details are far from certain since forecast models are showing considerable differences. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Monday afternoon) Issued at 1243 PM CDT Sun May 21 2017 An upper level low, currently located between Duluth and the Twin Cities, will slowly transition north northeast toward Lake Superior. This low will continue to produce MVFR ceilings and isolated showers for the TAF sites through this evening. Skies will become scattered between 22.09z and 22.12z and remain that way through much of Monday morning. Steep 950 to 900 mb lapse rates will produce wind gusts of 15 to 30 knots through 22.02z. && .HYDROLOGY... Issued at 313 PM CDT Sun May 21 2017 Heavy rains over the past week have resulted in flooding on many area rivers. River Flood Warnings continue for the Mississippi River at Wabasha, the Trempealeau River at Dodge, the Black River at Galesville, and the Yellow River at Necedah. Monitor the latest river forecasts closely this week as additional flooding is possible along portions of the Mississippi River. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. IA...None. && SHORT TERM...Wetenkamp LONG TERM...Wetenkamp AVIATION...Boyne HYDROLOGY...Wetenkamp
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service La Crosse WI 320 AM CDT Sun May 21 2017 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029- 032>034-041>044-053>055-061-220830- Mitchell-Howard-Winneshiek-Allamakee-Floyd-Chickasaw-Fayette- Clayton-Wabasha-Dodge-Olmsted-Winona-Mower-Fillmore-Houston- Taylor-Clark-Buffalo-Trempealeau-Jackson-La Crosse-Monroe-Juneau- Adams-Vernon-Crawford-Richland-Grant- 320 AM CDT Sun May 21 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southeast Minnesota...northeast Iowa and southwest into central Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Some flooding will continue along portions of the Mississippi River and its Wisconsin tributaries today and tonight as heavy rainfall from last week continues to move through the river system. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Some flooding will continue along portions of the Mississippi River and its Wisconsin tributaries through the week. Scattered thunderstorms are possible Monday afternoon and evening. Some of these storms may be strong, especially for areas south of Interstate 90. The primary threats will be small hail and gusty winds. Additional thunderstorms are possible Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons. Severe weather is not expected on Tuesday. It is too early to discern the severe threat for the end of the week into next weekend. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... No action needed. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... No webinar is scheduled. Rogers
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Runoff from several heavy rain events pushed the Mississippi River out of its banks in Wabasha. The river crested less than a foot above the flood stage at 12.68 feet.
Runoff from several heavy rain events pushed the Mississippi River out of its banks in Winona. The river crested almost a half foot above the flood stage at 13.44 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, May 2017
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: 702315, 702316.