Flooding in MN

[ndakotan]

John (nitrojohnny), how are things holding out in Owatonna?? We've been on the edge of the system and have only gotten about 3" of rain. Sounds like you guys have been in the thick of it--11+" in some areas in the last 24 hours?? (Just glad it's not snow. :-)

Jeff

[NITROJOHNNY]

Jeff,

(Just glad it's not snow. :-), wish it was thing are getting be as bad as if it was.
Too dark for pictures right now, hopefully a post up Fri. night/Sat. morning.
Me & the spendid endervor Mary are on our way out for a veiw of now.

John

[NITROJOHNNY]

Jeff,

Here's s few pics & a couple lead-too's for you my friend.
My family & home were not in harm ways, but in ways that means nothing.
All in all a very scary & humbling @ the same time chain of events.

The first lead-to, a video of the Straight River that runs just west of downtown.
Taken late Thur. afternoon @ the height of what would become the flood's crest.

http://www.owatonna.com/news.php?viewStory=120935

The second is my photo host site & the pics I took, the Power Plant/City Parks.
Residential damage along Maple Creek & other araes was really rough.

http://nitrojohnny.smugmug.com/Under...73_Jg7VX-M.jpg

Some of my pics:

Sat. 11:0 am/My friend Jeff Dube & his home @ the Elm St./Maple Creek bridge.
Note the 2 water levels on his fence & household ( bridge is to the north 60' ).
The lower wet one as the creek rose 1 ft per hour, the other as it crested @ 6'.

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1st snapp- 1:30 am as sandbagging was called off for the night.
2nd snapp- Friday's fruit of our labor for that day.
Me, last to go & one of the 1st one back Friday morning @ 7:00 am.

1020069641_2Hedp-M.jpg
1021347118_dhbWN-M.jpg

Some misc snapps:

Fri. 10:00 am/Railroad tracks bewteen the Power Plant & Moorehose Park:

1021334560_3LvPf-M-1.jpg
1021333843_LXcjQ-M.jpg

Fri. 1:30 pm/Moorehouse Park Dam:

1021345395_Zxfqx-M.jpg
1021346063_CWnTZ-M.jpg

Sat. 2:30 pm/Households along the Straight River south of Moorehouse Park:

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1021344261_jyr6C-M.jpg

John

p.s.

& but a course thee parting p.s. patented "Nitroangle Batangled" shot.
Though out the whole bizz this was about the only moment I cut loose.
Yepper in my world water does run up hill ( lol ) .

1021340173_Jg7VX-M.jpg

[rdln66]

When we chatted the other night, you said up to 7" of rain..I've even heard up to 11" in some areas.
That's a massive amount of rainfall.

Shows Incredible power of Mother Nature.

Glad to hear you folks are OK there J.

F.

[NITROJOHNNY]

FranK,

Yeah, 7" was the guess that splendid one Mary had heard as the rain started.
Not sure the total that fell around Owatonna, some say are saying 13" w/in 18 hrs.
As incredible is it came, is how fast it's flowing away, 2'-3' drop @ the tracks today.

John

[Yonderwheels]

My Dad and much of my family lives in Owatonna (I was born there) and luckily most of them just had some water in their basements. It's amazing that 45 minutes away here in Mankato it wasn't nearly as bad but it seemed like it rained for days nonetheless. Good pictures there...I've seen the water get high in those places before, but nothing like this.

[ndakotan]

Glad you're okay, John. A cousin lives there too and I just found out yesterday that she made it through all right too. My normal bike commuting road goes under water in a couple of days, so they shut that down today in prep. Certainly no hardship for me compared with what the folks in your pictures have to deal with.

Jeff