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Spring/Summer 1996 WATFR TALK Page 13 <br />i as as - i <br />r a, X996 <br />After enduring one of the harshest winters of <br />the century, northern Minnesota experienced a very <br />cold spring. Significant snow cover persisted in the <br />north well into mid-April. Spring runoff from the <br />heavy snow cover led. to flooding in many areas of <br />the north. Northwestern Minnesota experienced the <br />most serious flooding. Lake ice-out dates were <br />among the latest ever recorded in the north. A few <br />northern Minnesota lakes failed to lose their ice until <br />mid-May and were frozen for the opening of the <br />fishing season. Some lake ice-out dates: <br />Mille Lacs Lake May 6 <br />Gull Lake May 4 <br />Otter Tail Lake May 4 <br />Detroit Lake May 5 <br />Leech Lake May 10 <br />Lk. Winnibigoshish May 10 <br />Lower Red Lake May 17 <br />Lake of the Woods May 16 <br />Rainy Lake May 19 <br />Vermilion Lake May 16 <br />Southern Minnesota also experienced an <br />unusually cold spring. Temperatures averaged 3 to 5 <br />degrees below normal for April and Niay. The Twin <br />Cities reached 67 degrees on April 10, the first time <br />the temperature reached 60 or more for nearly six <br />months. The cold temperatures suppressed soil <br />drying and soil warming, leading to significant <br />delays in spring planting. <br />. Heavy rains in mid-May dropped 2 to 6 <br />inches of water on the already saturated Red River <br />Valley, further delaying agricultural field operations <br />and leading to more flooding. May also brought the <br />usual spate of spring severe weather to western and <br />southern Minnesota. High winds led to significant <br />property damage in some areas. <br />The weather was highly variable across the <br />state in June. Very dry weather for the first three <br />weeks of the month led to forest fires in the north, <br />especially northeastern Minnesota. Fortunately, late <br />June rains quelled the fire potential. In contrast to the <br />dryness of the north, some areas of southern Minne- <br />sota received torrential rains in mid-June.. A slow <br />moving low pressure system, plodding through the <br />Upper Midwest, produced a deluge in south central <br />Minnesota on June 16 and 17. Rainfall totals ex- <br />...continued on next page <br />Figure l Heavy Rains Fall On South-Central Minnesota <br />June 16 -17,1996 __ <br />t_eSueur <br />~~ <br />Nicollet ~ <br />3 ,~ <br />__ <br />New Ulm :~ ~ <br />--- - <br />- --- <br />---- <br />`~ - <br />y• ~ a k o ~---- - <br />Brown <br />-- <br />tT <br />Watonwan ~ Blue Eart Waseca <br />Cry <br />Values are in inches <br />