BRAINERD — Another day, another inch-plus of rain.
A band of thunderstorms and rain showers moved across Minnesota Tuesday, June 4, dropping more than 2.5 inches of rain in some places.
Topping the list of rainfall in northeast Minnesota was 2.68 inches in Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County, according to the National Weather Service in Duluth. Several places in St. Louis and Carlton counties reported more than 2 inches of rainfall Tuesday.
Locally, 1.41 inches of rain was reported in Mission Township, 1.3 inches in Breezy Point, 1.14 inches in Walker, 1.08 inches in Brainerd and 1.05 inches in Backus.
So far in June Brainerd received 2.53 total inches of rain, well above the average of 0.68 inches for the first five days of the month. For the entire month of June, Brainerd averages 4.64 inches of rain. And that doesn’t yet count the rainfall — from scattered showers Wednesday — which was heavy at times and came with strong winds with gusts up to 30 mph reported at the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport.
Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch
There were multiple reports on the police scanner Wednesday of downed trees and trees on power lines sparking fire, particularly in Cass County.
Crow Wing Power reported numerous outages in the region with 1,420 meters affected. The outages spiked about 3:30 p.m. to 5:46 p.m. Wednesday. Just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, 899 meters remained without power. Minnesota Power reported 892 customers were affected by power outages as of 7 p.m. Wednesday with repairs in progress near Backus and north of Little Falls.
Tim Speier / Brainerd Dispatch
The power outage in Belle Prairie Township along Highway 371 north of Little Falls began at 6:20 p.m. Wednesday and affected 790 customers. Expectations were to have power restored there by 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Minnesota Power had additional outages in the Duluth area.
Rainy May
The month of May was also above normal, with 5.26 inches reported compared to the historical average of 3.93 inches for the month.
On the upside, the above-average rainfall removed all drought designations for Crow Wing County and helped lake levels rise and replenish rivers and streams. On the downside, rainfall saturated the ground in some areas, with reports of water seeping into basem*nts, and increased the dangers of flooding and flashing flooding as waterways become inundated. Not to mention the healthy and hungry crop of mosquitoes in the wake of all this water.
The forecast Thursday into the weekend and into next week looks to be drier and cooler, according to the weather service.
Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch
On Thursday, it is expected to be partly sunny with a high temperature of 65 degrees, with a northwest wind 15-20 mph and gusts as high as 30 mph. On Friday, it is expected to be sunny with a high temperature of 72 degrees, west winds 5-10 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
For Saturday and Sunday, there is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms each afternoon with high temperatures of 69 degrees expected.
ADVERTIsem*nT
On Monday, the weather service’s forecast calls for sunny skies and a high temperature of 75 degrees. There is a chance of showers and thunderstorms Tuesday, with high temperatures of 75 expected.
By Dispatch staff report
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
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