Stormy Day Across Minnesota
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Southeastern Minnesota didn’t experience any severe weather, but the thunderstorm that rumbled across the region Thursday afternoon produced some impressive rainfall totals.
There were reports of 1.4 inches of rain in southeast Rochester, while about an inch was recorded at St. Mary’s Hospital near downtown Rochester over a span of only about 30 minutes. The unofficial total at the Rochester Airport was just under 1.1 inches.
The same storm prompted the National Weather Service to issue severe storm warnings in western Wisconsin, where 60 mile per hour wind gusts were reported in La Crosse which saw extensive street flooding from the heavy rain.
_________________________________________________________________________
Earlier Thursday, even stronger thunderstorms hit the northern half of Minnesota. The hardest hit areas were the same areas that saw extensive damage from storms that knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses two weeks ago.
Wind gusts approaching 70 miles per hour were reported Thursday morning in Duluth, and there were reports that nearly 10,000 homes and businesses lost power in northeastern Minnesota because of storm damage.
The Brainerd Lakes area was raked by damaging winds, including a gust strong enough to topple a 6,000-pound, 19-foot-tall statue of Babe the Blue Ox at Paul Bunyan Land.