After heavy rains across Southern Minnesota last night and this morning, the National Water Prediction Service expects the Cannon River to crest at 901.5 feet.
That would match the record level the river reached in September of 2010.
At 10:30 this morning, the river was at 896.3 feet, about seven-tenths of an inch below minor flood stage. Over the next 24 hours, the water level is expected to rise dramatically, reaching the moderate flood stage of 899 feet early Saturday morning, the major flood stage of 900 feet at 1:00 Saturday morning, the major Flood Stage of 900 feet at 7:00 tomorrow morning, before cresting at 901.5 feet on Sunday afternoon. According to the predictions, the river should begin to noticeably recede by Tuesday afternoon.
The Northfield Police Department takes the lead on monitoring the possible flood situation. Chief Mark Elliott said as concerned as he is about how much rain falls in Northfield, he is more concerned about how much rain falls upstream. The river flows North, so rain that falls in the Southern areas of the watershed is eventually delivered through Downtown Northfield.
“The forecast for the next three days is somewhere between three and five-and-a-half inches of rain, so we’re keeping a very close eye on that. We’re watching how that rain hits, how much hits us, but also how much hits the upper watershed. The Cannon River over towards Faribault and the Straight River all the way down to Owatonna flows into the cannon and then comes through downtown Northfield. So, we have to keep an eye on that as well and we’ll continue to do that.”
The Police work with a host of other agencies in situations like this. City Engineer and Public Works Director David Bennett has the public works department out barricading flooded streets and trails, delivering sandbags wherever necessary and keeping in touch with at-risk businesses along the river. The Northfield Area Fire and Rescue Service and the Northfield EMS squad remain in touch with the police as well. The Chief said they work with the Army Corps of Engineers through flood situations. Deputy Chief PT Haider, who works closely with Northfield Emergency Manager Tim Isom, handles the execution of the city’s emergency management plan and is in close contact with the National Weather Service.
“I can tell you pretty regularly over the last couple of weeks, Deputy Chief P.T. Haider has been having conversations with the National Weather Service. They’re really good about responding to us and looking at not only forecasts, but several different models that they watch to say, ‘What are the different scenarios that could happen? How much rain could we get in this scenario or this one?’”
While there are plenty of public safety officials and emergency responders to help when the situation becomes dire, Chief Elliott advised extreme caution with flood waters and asked people to stay away from dangerous situations. The section of the Mill Towns trail between Northfield and Dundas is flooded right now with up to 18” of flowing water, which can be quite dangerous. Motorists should avoid flooded streets as well.
Stay tuned to AM 1080 and FM 95.1 KYMN Radio, as well as KYMN radio.net and the KYMN social media platforms for all up-to-date information.
Cannon River Flood Update, 6/21/24 12pm
