Southeast Minnesota is getting clobbered by excess rainfall this weekend. There are multiple reports of water flowing over the road, so please, be careful if you’re heading out and about. An even better idea is to just stay home, especially at night. It’s awful hard to see the water flowing over the road in the dark.
Here’s a update from Thomas Kaase, Fillmore County Sheriff, with the most up-to-date information.
As of 8:00 PM this evening, our Emergency Manager Don Kullot has been out and assessing the situation in Fillmore County. We are urging our citizens and people traveling in and through Fillmore County to use extreme caution, especially in low-lying areas that have rivers, creeks, or even just the potential of water flow. The areas that seem most affected are west of Preston, south of the Stewartville-Spring Valley-Wykoff areas, and in the Ostrander area too. We are working to get updates throughout the rest of our county.
Since 6:00 this morning, some areas have received up to 6 inches of rain and some were getting blasted from 3:00 PM to 7:00 this evening. Some areas are expected to get an additional 1-2 inches more. At one time earlier this evening, we had a Fillmore County Deputy stranded between CR 30 and Klondike Road, moving to higher ground before finding a way out. It’s easier to see the water over our roadways during the daylight, but with darkness coming upon us, PLEASE USE CAUTION! Remember the saying….TURN AROUND AND DON’T DROWN!
*Update* The eastern side of our county also affected, southeastern area reported to have received up to 5 inches of rain. Hwy 43 north of Mabel is reported to have water over the roadway.
Again, please use caution if you’re driving in our area and don’t take any chances….turn around and don’t drown!