Map provided courtesy of National Weather Service, Twin Cities/Chanhassen.
Thunderstorms moved across central and southern Minnesota on Saturday August 6, with pockets of intense rains forming and reforming across the far south throughout the day and into the night. A second batch of showers and thunderstorms moved across many of the same areas on evening of Sunday August 7. This second round was generally less intense and more evenly distributed.
Between the two events, rainfall totals ranged from one to three inches across the southern third of the state, with scattered higher amounts reported in Renville, Kandiyohi, and McLeod Counties, and also along and south of I-90 in far southern Minnesota.
The highest rainfall totals from the weekend were reported by CoCoRaHS observers, including 4.58 inches north of Glencoe, 4.41 inches near Brownton (also in McLeod County), 4.35 inches from on the Renville & Kandiyohi county border, 4.15 inches in far western Rock County in extreme southwestern Minnesota, and 4.11 inches near the Watonwan River in west-central Blue Earth County. Official National Weather Service volunteer observations included 3.80 inches at Luverne in Rock County, 3.64 inches at Caledonia in Houston County, and 3.01 inches at Preston in Fillmore County.
In the Twin Cities area, the rainfall totals were generally from 1 to 3 inches, with the highest totals extending from the south end of Lake Minnetonka, southwestward into Carver County.
From the Twin Cities, westward towards the upper Minnesota River, the abundant rains helped slow down moderate to severe drought conditions, which have been expanding across those areas recently.
Updated August 9, 2022