REGIONAL— River and stream levels continued to exhibit considerable bounce this week as the impact of late April and early May rains faded. Area stream levels began the ice-free season at near record lows due to the lack of spring snowmelt but rebounded significantly from the spring rains, running well above average levels for this time of year.
As of Monday, stream levels were dropping quickly once again. Measured at Littlefork, the Little Fork River, for example, had fallen from its May 6 reading of 4,510 cubic feet per second (well above the top 25th percentile for May) to 2,250 cfs as of May 13. That’s about the 50th percentile, or Q50 for the Little Fork.
Up at the border, the Rainy River at Manitou Rapids had fallen from 15,200 cfs as of May 6 to 10,700 cfs. That’s just above the Q75 for May, meaning the level is likely to fall into the low flow category in the next few days without some significant additional rain. Some rain was forecast for later in the week, but amounts were generally forecasted to be under half an inch.
Meanwhile, the Vermilion River was down as well as of Monday’s reading, registering at 1,050 cfs at Crane Lake. That’s slightly below average for May, but marks a considerable improvement from the 220 cfs reading back on March 31.