NWS: June rain not a Grand Forks record, but way wetter than normal

With frequent and heavy rain storms, this past month was the 12th wettest June on record for Grand Forks, according to the National Weather Service’s local office.

Meteorologist Jim Kaiser said the office on the UND campus recorded 6.75 inches of accumulated precipitation during the month, which is 80.5 percent more than the normal amount for the month.

That’s still a far cry from the wettest June on record in 1925 when there was 9.52 inches of precipitation.

While cool, June was close to the monthly norm with an average temperature of 65.2 degrees. The hottest day was the 21st when it was 89 degrees, the coolest were the 8th and 13th when it was 47.

The high amount of rain has led to flooding in places such as Grafton, N.D., and Middle River, Minn., but Kaiser said flooding and flood warnings are typical of months with this much rainfall.

“Any wet spring is going to see these minor to occasional flood levels,” he said. “This isn’t unusual for a wet spring, for areas that are prone to flooding to see excessive water.”

Moving forward to July, any more rainfall will lead to increased risk of flooding because the soil is saturated.

“When you have excess water you don’t want more water on top of that,” Kaiser said.

The weather service has a flood warning in effect for the Red River north of the Grand Forks County line and in Fargo. The warning also affects the Buffalo River in parts of Clay County.

Such saturation and wet conditions don’t just cause flooding. Saturation and standing water lead to bigger mosquito populations, agricultural difficulties and - the most obvious -being stuck inside.

“(There is) difficulty getting into fields for farmers to do any sort of field work,” he said. “Other than that, you have summertime and recreational events being interrupted or cancelled.”

The forecast for the next few days in the Grand Forks area says there will be a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms on Independence Day and a slight chance of thunderstorms on parts of Saturday, Sunday,Monday and Tuesday.

On the Web: For monthly averages and other data, go to the weather service website at  1.usa.gov/1kbzpaS .

Call Richie at (701) 780-1134;  (800) 477-6572, ext. 1134 ; or send email to  grichie@gfherald.com .

1/2: Between two caution barriers a public water access sign sits about thirty feet out from the Red River's edge in East Grand Forks, Minn. June has seen an irregular amount of rain bringing flood waters up to about 30 feet as of Tuesday morning. (Luke Franke/Grand Forks Herald)

2/2: Many trails along the Greenway on both sides of the Red River have been shut off due to an irregular amount of rain in the month of June that has brought flood waters up to 30 feet as of Tuesday morning. (Luke Franke/Grand Forks Herald)