Record-Setting Rainfall in June 2014

June 2014 was Minnesota's wettest June, and wettest month, of the modern record. The state-averaged monthly rainfall total for June 2014 in Minnesota was 8.03 inches. The total was well more than the previous record of 7.32 inches set in July 1897 and again in June 1914.

The state-averaged monthly rainfall record was established because of the broad geographic extent of heavy rainfall events. Individual station June monthly rainfall records were set from Luverne on the Iowa border, to International Falls on the Canadian border. June rainfall totals across large sections of the state ranked above the 95th percentile (one year in twenty) when compared with the historical record.

Some record-setting June totals for individual locations, by region, from north to south, include:

Ada 9.05 inches
Littlefork 9.14 inches
International Falls 10.19 inches
Kabetogama 11.58 inches

Dawson 8.27 inches
Chaska 13.24 inches
Glencoe 14.24 inches

Lakefield 10.96 inches
Waseca 12.31 inches
Luverne 13.84 inches
Redwood Falls 14.24 inches

Some of these totals triple the historical rainfall average for the month of June.

The Twin Cities total of 11.36 inches fell just short of the June record of 11.67 inches set 140 years ago in 1874. The state record for the highest June total for an individual location remains unbroken - 15.63 inches at Delano in 2002. The impacts of the heavy June rainfall were apparent: flooded farm fields and delayed field work, flooded basements, mudslides and flooded roads leading to transportation disruptions, and negative consequences for outdoor activities including construction and outdoor recreation. The spillway connected to a dam at Blue Mounds State Park washed out on June 15 and drained Lower Mound Lake.