Has Minnesota Ever Received Torrential Rains Like Harvey Is Dumping On Texas?

With some places along the Texas Gulf Coast expected to receive nearly 50 inches of rain thanks to Tropical Storm Harvey, has Minnesota ever been on the receiving end of anything like this?

Well, as you might guess, no, we haven't. Of course, much of Texas hasn't, either, as this storm has truly been unprecedented. (The National Weather Service even admitted as much earlier this week, saying nothing like this has really ever happened before-- and that they don't really know what will happen before it ends.)

But, here in Minnesota, we have experienced what the DNR calls 'Historic Mega-Rain Events.' And while they're not even close to what's going on down in Texas, these historic storms DID drop some significant precipitation on the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

The DNR defines a 'Historic Mega-Rain Event' as a storm where 'six inches of rain covers more than 1000 square miles and the core of the event topped eight inches.' And, we've had 15 of them here in Minnesota, with the latest occurring just last year in Wabasha County.

And, yes, the Rochester Flood of 1978 was another one. And as the DNR says, even if they're not dumping 50 inches rain like Harvey, all of these storms had 'the potential to become catastrophic.' You can see the entire list of all 15 HERE.