1987 Super Storm

35 years ago, on July 23-24, the metro area witnessed a historic rain event: the 1987 Super Storm. The Nine Mile Creek watershed was at the center of this historic storm, receiving over 11 inches of rain in 24 hours. This came on top of a large storm a few days earlier, leading to soaked soils that struggled to hold so much water.

“Streets became rushing rivers, parking lots became lakes… Storm sewers spouted like geysers during the storm.” –Interagency Hazard Mitigation Report

The Nine Mile Creek Watershed District had completed a few projects by that time to control and manage flooding, including the creation of Normandale Lake. Because of these efforts, the District successfully reduced the worst impacts of this storm.

Read more about how the watershed district systems protected the southwest metro in our story map below.

Explore the story map

 

The DNR posted this analysis of the event for the 35th anniversary. Read their article here: dnr.state.mn.us/climate/journal/870723_24_superstorm.html?fs=e&s=cl