Relentless Rainfall: 2014 Flooding in Minnesota

The flooded highway 101 bridge, which connects Shakopee and Chanhassen, MN.

By the end of June 2014, the Twin Cities and the metro area had received 25.32 inches of rainfall. This number was insane—it essentially amounted to almost a year’s worth of rain before the first six months of the year were even over! In June alone, we had received almost 11 inches of rain, which is more than two times the average for the month. On top of that, the year’s snowfall had been unusually dense, too. What occurred as a result of this rainfall was some of the state’s most widespread flooding in years; then-Governor Mark Dayton ended up declaring a state-of-emergency for 35 counties. 

My hometown, Shakopee, is one of the many suburbs of the Twin Cities area, sitting about 35 minutes south of MSP. For us, the catalyst for our worst flooding came from the Minnesota River, which runs right through downtown Shakopee. The river swelled and only continued to rise in consequence of the continuous rainfall. It flooded a park and other buildings and land all located right off of the riverbank, a good amount of the amusement park ValleyFair, and perhaps most importantly, it flooded the highway 101 bridge, which connects Shakopee to Chanhassen (and Chanhassen to greater Southern MN; plus, years ago it was the US-169 bridge). The National Weather Service uses the terms minor, moderate, and major to classify flooding. At one point, the Minnesota River was about about a foot above the major flood stage.

The park in downtown Shakopee, located right next to the Minnesota River.

Because my family and I live further inside the city and not near any other bodies of water (ie: ponds, which did cause issues in areas some of my friends lived in) that were big enough to swell over from the rainfall, we were lucky enough to be relatively spared from any devastating effects. Nonetheless, I do remember hearing our sump pump running constantly for weeks because of the rainfall and the grass in our yard being soaking wet. And in the backyard, so much water had accumulated in such a short time that the city sewer drain between my house and a few of my neighbors’ houses could barely keep up. This led to what looked to me like a tiny river at the vertex of our lawn and my neighbors’. 

Historically, the Minnesota River has caused the city of Shakopee to endure a great deal of flooding. A sign right near the highway 101 bridge displays the high-water marks of the 1965 and 1993 floods, the highest two in our recorded history. Due to the nature of the river and the regular closure of the bridge from flooding, a project was announced to improve transportation over the river, making a 4-lane bridge and hoping to mitigate flooding impacts. Ironically, the ceremonial groundbreaking was held for the project on June 24, 2014, with the flooded bridge as their backdrop. Talk about timing!

Politicians attend the groundbreaking for the bridge construction project, as the current bridge floods.

References:

Crawford, R. (2014, June 25). Flood serves as ceremonial backdrop. SW News Media. https://www.swnewsmedia.com/shakopee_valley_news/news/flood-serves-as-ceremonial-backdrop/article_984e8cd3-b333-56c8-a85e-5791fad8e71f.html.

National Weather Service. (n.d.). High Water Level Terminology. https://www.weather.gov/aprfc/terminology#:~:text=The%20flood%20categories%20used%20in,a%20major%20flood%20stage%20assigned.

Samenow, J. (25, June 2014). Sobering aerial views of Minnesota under water, after flooding rains. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/06/25/sobering-aerial-views-of-minnesota-under-water-after-flooding-rains/.