Flash Flood in Winona County, Minnesota

Flash flooding hit all the creeks and drainage areas hard that begin near the Interstate 90 area in Winona County. Garvin Brook and other creeks that flow into Stockton became terrain-changing flowages that washed out numerous roads, created massive mudslides, took out bridges, damaged railroad tracks, and washed away some homes.

Most homes in Stockton had severe water damage as flood waters roared through town.

Erosion problems were also noted south of Interstate 90 in the Hart area. Many roads, including Highway 43, were closed for several days.

A warm front lifting northward into Iowa triggered round after round of thunderstorms with excessive rainfall across southeast Minnesota during the evening and overnight hours of August 18-19. This was after rain had fallen earlier in the day. Total rainfall amounts of 10 to 15 inches were common, which produced widespread and significant flash flooding. An official rainfall total of 15.1 inches near Hokah (Houston County) established an all-time 24 hour rainfall record for the state of Minnesota. Other rainfall totals, which were unofficial readings, included 17.00 and 14.00 inches respectively in Witoka and Utica (Winona County). Numerous roads and bridges were washed out, houses collapsed due to mudslides and hundreds of homes had flooded basements. Law enforcement and fire department officials reported rescuing people from their vehicles, as well as from house tops. There were seven fatalities reported, five in Winona County and two in Houston County. Damage attributed to the heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding was estimated to be in the millions of dollars. Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona counties were declared federal disaster areas.