Heavy Rain Drenches Region

Heavy rainfall over the weekend didn’t stop the Governor’s Fishing Opener, but it caused plenty of chaos throughout the region.

Brown and Watonwan counties were hit especially hard, with heavy flooding reported in Comfrey. Co Rd 17 through the town was closed due to flooding. The Brown County Sheriff announced flooding closures for county roads 5 and 18, and 8.  More than 8 inches of rainfall had fallen since Wednesday near Darfur, according to a report yesterday from KEYC News Now.

Early Sunday, Highway 68 at Courtland was shut down for several hours for a mudslide.  More than 5.5 inches of rain had been reported in the area.  Highway 68 is the detour for Highway 14, which is under major construction.  Traffic for both highways was diverted to Highway 15 and 60 while the mudslide was cleaned up.

Highways 93 and 19 at Henderson have also closed again due to flooding.

Sleepy Eye received nearly 7.5 inches of rain, according to KEYC.  The La Salle area saw 6.7 inches, and St. James and New Ulm each recorded more than 6 inches of rainfall.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Minnesota River at New Ulm, Henderson, and Mankato, and the Cottonwood River at Springfield and New Ulm.  The rivers are expected to crest within a few days.  Dry, sunny weather is expected for the next couple of days, with more rain in the forecast for Wednesday night through Friday.

Source: Southern Minnesota News 5/15/23