Soaker storm sloshes through Osakis

• Lake of water over Highway 27

Lake of water over Highway 27
• At least 4 inches of water reported in the area

At least 4 inches of water reported in the area
• Rain clears off, now comes the heat

Rain clears off, now comes the heat
• Flooding at Hensley Trucking

Flooding at Hensley Trucking
• "Hensley Pond" in front of the business office

"Hensley Pond" in front of the business office

Talk about it

A large, slow-moving thunderstorm generated a flash flood warning for Douglas and southern Todd counties last Friday, July 15.

Storms rolled into the area around 5 a.m. and blew out of town around 10:30 a.m.

Osakis Fire Department dispatched weather spotters early Friday morning and around 7:30 a.m., reported cloud rotation over Smith Lake, southwest of Osakis.

There were no reported tornado touchdowns.

The storms sloshed across Douglas and Todd counties leaving behind a wake of water to deal with.

At the intersection of Highway 27 and 5th Avenue West, in front of Tesoro and Deluxe Oil, a huge lake of water flooded the road. Drivers slammed on their brakes and slowly rolled through the rocker-panel-deep water. Other drivers hit the water at 30 miles-per-hour and sloshed through, making huge waves of water.

Low areas of town were flooded out in several people’s backyards. What was a headache for parents was a chance for children to splash, play and swim in their yard.

In the midst of the downpour Friday morning, Osakis Public Works crews were busy checking the city’s infrastructure, pumps and stations to be sure everything stood up to the large amount of storm water.

At least 5 inches of rain fell in just a few hours in the area. Harold Withers of rural Osakis reported 4.46 inches of rain in about three hours.

Out at Hensley, Inc. on the west side of Osakis, a large lake formed in the front yard of the business. However, staff was prepared, using tires and sand bags to protect the office from water. At one point, water in the flooded yard-area was about 3 feet deep.

After the rain passed, hot weather gushed into the area, generating an excessive heat watch and warning for the weekend.

The sweltering heat continued into earlier this week with heat indices reaching up to 106 degrees on Monday.

Tags: news, osakis, weather, storm, rain