A wet spring has sprung

Just as area residents were crossing their fingers for a trend of nice weather, Sunday’s 1.21 inches of rain washed away not only the previous record of 0.37 inches set on April 10 in 1947, but also several area driveways, ditches, and piles of snow.

“There was a really strong, nice springtime low-pressure system that brought a lot of moisture from the Gulf up to the northland,” said Amanda Graning, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth. “That stream also resulted in nice warm temperatures Friday and Saturday.”

Graning explained that meteorologists expected the slow moving system with prolonged periods of rain. She said when the area transitions from cooler to warmer temperatures, summertime-like systems with more moisture are typical.

“Over one inch of rainfall during a 24-hour period in April is not all that infrequent,” she said. “There have been six dates on record during the month that got more rain in a 24-hour period than we did Sunday.”

And, she added, rainy times, and cooler temperatures, are on their way.

“We’re in a little bit of an active pattern. Another cold front is expected to cross over the area, but it should be pretty fast moving.”

The average amount of rain the Falls receives in April is 1.38 inches. And Graning said, “April is one of those months that swings over a large span of values. There can be rain or snow.”

International Falls and surrounding areas are not, as Graning reminded, out of the clear for the white stuff. April has an average of 5.7 inches of snow.

“We’re still in winter-like months in the northland,” she said with a laugh. “But after a long, dreary winter, we’ll take what warm weather we can get, even if there is rain.”

Although the International Falls area isn’t in a location at risk of severe flooding, Graning cautioned residents to be aware of localized flooding.

“I know that getting a lot of rainfall on any date always makes localized flooding a potential problem,” she said.