Flash Flood in Isanti County, Minnesota

Several observations from local media to law enforcement indicated flooding occurring in the Cambridge city limits. The local cooperative observer reported 4.38 inches of rainfall in less than 2 hours with pictures around the city indicating stalled cars in flooded roadways. In addition, a local business had water damage from the runoff.

Thunderstorms that originally developed across the Arrowhead of Minnesota early Wednesday morning, August 17th, created a boundary farther southward across east-central Minnesota. This boundary, with daytime heating leading to more instability, caused additional thunderstorms to develop. Due to weak winds aloft, these storms drifted southward but continued to redevelop on the west side. This led to storms training over the same areas from Mora, southward to the eastern portion of the Twin Cities metro area. One area near Cambridge had over 4 inches of rain in less than 2 hours that led to flash flooding in the town. A local business had water damage due to the excessive rainfall. Other areas in the Twin Cities also had excessive rainfall, but only minor flooding occurred, and mainly in poor drainage areas.