A large swath of waterlogged Minnesota will begin to dry out Tuesday afternoon after storms that dropped close to a month's worth of rain moved through Monday and Tuesday morning.
The Twin Cities set a daily record rainfall total for Oct. 2 with 2.18 inches recorded at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the official weather reporting station for the metropolitan area according to the National Weather Service. Combined with rain that fell Tuesday morning, the Twin Cities has picked up 2.59 inches of rain in the first three days of October, slightly above the average of 2.43 inches the metro area normally receives for the entire month, said Pete Boulay of the Minnesota State Climatology Office.
"It definitely was a big rain," he said.
St. Cloud also set a daily record for Monday with 1.55 inches, said National Weather Service meteorologist Michelle Margraf. More rain fell after midnight and pushed the storm total to 2.52 inches, the weather service said. That was more than average monthly rainfall for 2.49 inches the city normally receives in October.
Other areas saw a whole lot more with 2 to 5 inches in an area stretching from Redwood Falls to Hutchinson to Hinckley. Between 8 a.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday, the most from rain fell in Maple Lake with 4.8 inches. Other totals included 4.4 inches in Big Lake, 4.32 inches in Mora, 4.29 inches in Redwood Falls, 4.25 inches in Hutchinson, 4.21 inches in French Lake, 4 inches in Buffalo and 3.7 inches in Elk River.
Several other cities recorded more than 3 inches, and totals of 2 inches or more were common in the western and northern Twin Cities suburbs, the weather service said.
The copious rains were expected to push the Crow, Redwood and Minnesota rivers higher, but it was unclear if any would reach flood stage, Margraf said.
No flooding issues were reported even though a flash flood watch was in effect Monday night. A flash flood watch remains in effect Tuesday morning for an area from Hinckley to Duluth, the weather service said.
![It was a soggy commute for those downtown near 6th St. S and 2nd Ave. Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, in Minneapolis, MN.] DAVID JOLES � david.joles@startribune.com Heavy overnight rains, followed by strong morning showers saturated the ground in the metro and parts of the state.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/DLLBZHU3VWVGSN4OGWLJDI6N54.jpg?&w=1080)
