Heavy rain - past and future

Plenty of rain fell on Thursday across a wide swath of Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

The northern edges of the Twin Cities measured almost 5 inches of rain from the system, with many locations reporting 1 to 3 inches total.

Here in Ashland I received 2.24" total by 07:00 Friday morning. The airport, up on the hill, received a little more at 2.66". 

Local streams responded instantly to the heavy downpours. Whittelsey Creek, a shallow stream fed by groundwater from the sandy hills, rose 5 feet in nine hours. Larger rivers have taken longer to crest.

The USGS gauge (see graph) on the Bad River crested today from yesterday's deluge. 

The Nemadji River in Superior is currently at 21.6 feet, 1.6 feet above flood stage.

The Bois Brule River is running higher but not at flood stage, and it's beginning to fall. 

All the USGS gauge sites can be found on their page (here).

It was a lot of rain at once, but overall the streams and lakes absorbed the rainfall without any incidents. In fact, this may finally propel northern Wisconsin out of the dry conditions from the last several years. 

However, the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) is predicting more rain the next few days.

The map (to the right) shows the precipitation forecast for the next three days, from Saturday until Tuesday. While the forecast calls for the rain to be spread out over three days, the forecast amounts exactly mirror the locations that have already received the heavy rains. 

Rivers will continue to rise and may begin to cause flooding problems across the region by Sunday.