Flood — Houston, Minnesota

2023-04-17 to 2023-04-30 · near La Crescent, Houston, Minnesota

Event narrative

Significant upstream runoff from the combination of rainfall and rapidly melting snow pushed the Mississippi River at La Crescent into flood stage on April 17th. A crest of 644.77 ft above sea level occurred on April 26th, 3.77 ft over flood stage.

Wider weather episode

A deeper than average snow pack from northern Minnesota into northern Wisconsin underwent a rapid melt through much of April from unseasonably warm temperatures combined with multiple rain events. This resulted in increased water levels and significant flooding for the entire length of the local Mississippi River, with most sites climbing to their third to fifth highest crests on record. Initial flood warnings were issued in mid April with peak stages realized in late April. The highest above flood stage was Winona Dam at 5.81 ft over flood stage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.8449, -91.2965)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1096000. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.