Rain, rain, go away...

I bet that's what the residents of Minnesota were saying on this day in 1972.  When the rain started on the afternoon of July 21, 1972, I doubt the residents were expecting to experience one of the greatest rainfall events in state history.

When the rain subsided around daybreak on July 22, the 10.84 inches recorded at Fort Ripley, MN became the all-time 24-hour rainfall total in the state's history.

That wasn't the only record that was broken, however.

The flooding caused millions of dollars of damage, nearly $20 million to be more precise, making this event also the most costly (with respect to monetary losses).  

On a positive note, this event was also the most documented heavy rainfall event in the state's history.  Between the National Weather Service Cooperative Stations, county civil defense officers' reports, and the Future Farmers of America Rainfall Project, 245 reports were submitted and analyzed.  

Can you imagine how wonderful it would be if every meteorological event had that high an amount of observations?

Sources:

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

University of Minnesota - Minnesota Climatology Working Group