REGIONAL- Torrential rains on Tuesday, the likes of which haven’t been seen in the North Country in decades, created widespread flash flooding, extensive property damage, and wreaked havoc on state and county roads.
A line of thunderstorms pushed into the region late Tuesday morning and proceeded to hover over the area for much of the rest of the day, rarely letting up as it dumped an average of nearly an inch of rain an hour during the afternoon in some areas. Reported rainfall amounts varied from three to seven inches across the region, according to the Duluth National Weather Service office, although anecdotal reports from individuals ranged as high as nine inches. Official rainfall measurements included 4.6” south of Tower, 5.1” near Cook, 2.93” near Ely, 3.42” east of Orr, and 4.33” near Embarrass.
A major impact of the storm was to the area’s transportation system, with flash flooding creating dangerous hazards and causing road-closing washouts.
According to MnDOT, as of 9 a.m. Wednesday:
• Hwy. 1 between Sassas Rd. and Brown Rd., 15 miles west of Tower, remained closed due to a severe washout on Tuesday. MnDOT indicated on its 511MN.org road conditions website that a detour would remain in place until Wednesday, June 26.
• Hwy. 1 about six miles east of Ely was also closed due to a washout and a detour was being installed.
• Hwy. 169 between Karjala Rd. and Koski Rd. south of Tower was closed in both directions, although it was possible the road could be reopened by midday, according to the 511MN site.
Meanwhile, flooding was occurring on the northbound lanes of Hwy. 53 in the area of the junction with Hwy. 1 and further south, with drivers urged to exercise extreme caution.
St. Louis County Public Works officials were still scrambling Wednesday morning to assess the extent of damage to county roads. By early afternoon, public works announced that a total of 43 county roads were currently closed, 32 of them located in the northern third of the county.
Pictures posted to social media quickly spread the word about impassable washouts and major flooding on many county roads across the region, and also depicted serious damage to many private driveways, preventing residents from either leaving or returning to their homes.
The family of Jen McDonough, owner of the Tower Café, was one family affected by road issues. McDonough had Airbnb customers coming in late Tuesday evening, so she decided to spend the night in one of the rooms over the café. The gravel road her family lives on, like most of the other gravel roads in the Lake Vermilion area, was already flooded and impassable.
But plans changed when her adult son, who lives above the cafe and who has Type 2 diabetes, had his insulin pod fail and needed a new one, which was at the family home. Jen and her son drove to the turnoff to St. Odilla Beach Rd.
“It was like a waterfall,” she said. “Our road was partly gone.”
Her youngest son Remy ran down the road with the medication, meeting them partway.
The biggest challenge was the mosquitos, and according to Jen, she had never seen swarms so thick.
“I was wearing shorts and hopped out of my truck,” she said. “I was just assaulted!”
When Jen heard that Hwy. 169 was closed south of the Y Store, she quickly called the incoming guests telling them to take Hwy. 135 into Tower. A group of four young men arrived that evening, and then left early Wednesday morning for a weekend trip into the BWCAW.
Another Tower area road, Pike Bay Drive, was water covered with ditches overflowing on by Aronson Boat Works.
“We are thankful that nothing is wrecked,” said Aronson’s owner Gretchen Niemiste. “The yard is a mess and the driveway is impassable with four-foot deep ruts, and we need to get it repaired before we can bring in the excavators and other equipment needed.”
Niemiste said a few boats sank, but they are getting them back afloat, as well as pumping water out of all the other boats stored on land.
Customers have called to report boats floating away off boatlifts.
The lake level had risen nine inches in Pike Bay by Wednesday morning, and Niemiste is expecting it to rise further.
“I am just grateful there wasn’t wind with the storm,” she said. “The rain was devastating enough.”
Smaller gravel roads off Pike Bay Drive are also impassable, with ruts deeper than four feet on private roads off of Hearthside Dr.
Town impacts
Stormwater drainage systems in towns across the region struggled to keep up with the downpour on Tuesday as flash flooding on streets was widespread. Basements of homes and businesses experienced damage from flooding when sump pumps couldn’t keep up with the inflow.
In Tower, there were multiple reports of serious flooding in basements, especially along North Second and North Third streets, where multiple houses reported upwards of eight inches of water, possibly the result of sewer lines backing up.
Numerous houses in Cook were threatened by flooding from the runoff on Tuesday, but Wednesday concerns shifted to the rising water of the Little Fork River, which by midday was covering significant portions of Vermilion Dr., River St., and other city streets. Businesses along Vermilion Dr., including Cook Building Center and Frank’s Pharmacy, were threatened by the flooding, and a sandbagging operation was observed at the Scenic Rivers Dental Clinic just south of the intersection with River St.