Runoff from rain and melting snow across the Upper Midwest produced high flows along the Mississippi River in late March. Flooding occurred from Lake City (Wabasha County) downstream to Winona (Winona County) and continued into April.
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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 rain and melting snow across the Upper Midwest produced high flows along the Mississippi River in late March. Flooding occurred from Lake City (Wabasha County) downstream to Winona (Winona County) and continued into April.
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 24, 11:32 AM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service La Crosse WI 1232 PM CDT Sun Mar 24 2019 .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 255 AM CDT Sun Mar 24 2019 A vertically-stacked low pressure area is currently placed over the NEB/KS border at 08Z with low cloud and deeper saturation just north of the I-80 corridor into southwest IA. Bands of showers continue to rotate around the low, weakening as they emanate outward. Sprinkles are hit and miss at 0745Z but more continuous very light rain showers are approaching the area from the southwest. Latest RAP frontogenesis increases through the early morning across the southern forecast area with some slantwise instability indicated in the layer just above this sloped forcing. After this morning, the forcing is more non-described. Thus, SWRN WI and NERN IA area will see the rain showers but the forcing really doesnt move too far northeast. Thus, we will maintain an increase of rain chances southwest of La Crosse with the max occurring between 6-10 am. Meanwhile further north a cold front now located over Lake Superior is shifting south and will arrive in the morning in northcentral WI. Strong frontogenesis along this front in northern WI looks like it will diminish as the front travels south. Thus, it appears lower clouds and brisk winds of 10-20 mph will begin to bring colder air into the area as the front travels south today, but it looks like mainly a dry frontal passage aside from maybe some sprinkles. .LONG TERM...(Monday through Saturday) Issued at 255 AM CDT Sun Mar 24 2019 A noticeable drop in temperatures will occur for Monday, but temperatures will not be too far from normal. Very dry air will move into the area with clear skies. Large scale ridge building and fair weather then takes hold for Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday, pressures are falling over the High Plains and a strong low-level pressure gradient is in place. 24.00Z GFS forecast soundings suggest this environment could be conducive to tapping into a 30-40kt wind near 925 mb. However, models really begin to depart on the solutions from Wednesday through Saturday and 24.00Z ECMWF would suggest lower gusts. For now, have trended the wind up a bit with gusts of 30 to 40 mph. Thursday-Saturday are characterized as low predictability and confidence. The evolution of the southern and northern stream of the westerlies is being handled very differently in the model guidance and this will likely continue moving forward for some time yet. These scenarios are probably the least predictable in the models in my book and sometimes prove challenging even at close forecast time ranges. The larger picture for this period is a return of forcing and moisture as a deep low shifts out of the western U.S, which could mean a rainfall of over an inch is in play. But the details of when and where are still very unanswered. This could add to flooding concerns as the Miss River continues to rise. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Monday afternoon) Issued at 1232 PM CDT Sun Mar 24 2019 Widespread 5-10kft ceilings will continue along with perhaps a few sprinkles at either LSE and RST through the afternoon, before a passing cold front from the north brings in a period of lower MVFR ceilings and stratus into the evening. Those cloud will then gradually erode from northeast to southwest later tonight, but could potentially linger a little longer than currently forecast (will have to watch trends closely). Northerly winds through the afternoon will shift northeast 10-15 knots as the front passes this evening, holding steady through midday Monday. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 255 AM CDT Sun Mar 24 2019 A cold frontal passage from the north will bring unusually dry air into the region. Afternoon relative humidities will dip down into the 15-25% range on Monday and Tuesday in Wisconsin under full sunshine. On Wednesday, the potential is increasing for southwest wind gusts in the 25-35 mph range. Moisture will be on the increase and preliminary MinRH values look like they will be in 45-55% range && .HYDROLOGY... Issued at 255 AM CDT Sun Mar 24 2019 Ideal snow melt conditions continue into the early part of the week. Snow water liquid equivalent values north of I-90 have been reduced by about 2 inches over the past 5 days. The lack of tributary flooding during the period shows the ideal conditions for snow melt runoff. The main flooding concerns will be along the Miss River through the next weeks as the headwaters continue to supply water into the main stem. Minor to moderate flooding looks on track for the entire stretch. Precipitation will increase that flood wave should it occur. The next chance for rain is late in the week where some potential for 1 inch of rainfall or greater does exist. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. IA...None. && SHORT TERM...Baumgardt LONG TERM...Baumgardt AVIATION...Lawrence FIRE WEATHER...Baumgardt HYDROLOGY...Baumgardt
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service La Crosse WI 400 AM CDT Sun Mar 24 2019 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029- 032>034-041>044-053>055-061-251200- 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- 400 AM CDT Sun Mar 24 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southeast Minnesota...northeast Iowa and southwest into central Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Flooding continues along portions of the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries. Ice jams will continue along portions of the Black River over north-central Wisconsin. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday Rising river levels and flooding can be expected along the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries north of Interstate 90. Isolated thunderstorms are possible Wednesday night into Thursday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Reports of ice jams and flooding are appreciated. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... No webinar is scheduled. Baumgardt
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Runoff from rain and melting snow across the Upper Midwest produced high flows along the Mississippi River. Flooding began in Wabasha on March 24th and continued into April.
Runoff from rain and melting snow across the Upper Midwest produced high flows along the Mississippi River. Flooding began in Winona on March 25th and continued into April.
Runoff from rain and melting snow across the Upper Midwest produced high flows along the Mississippi River. Flooding began in Lake City on March 27th and continued into April.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, March 2019
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: 814559, 814563, 814554.