High Falls on the Pigeon River

The week of May 20, 2013, was one of tragic storms across North America, and the Lake Superior region wasn't spared, with heavy rain occurring all around the lake. There were road washouts south of Wawa in the east, flooding in Thunder Bay, road overflows in many area and major increases in rivers on every shore.

This was most evident with record flows over almost all of the waterfalls. The High Falls on the Pigeon River, on the border between the United States and Canada in northern Minnesota, experienced almost double its normal flow midweek after the rains. This video, shot on Thursday morning, May 23rd, shows heavy flow over the falls at almost 6,500 cubic feet per second. The depth gauges on the river showed higher levels than the record rainfall of June 2012. Hundreds of mini-waterfalls came to life along all of the bluffs of the lake, but by the weekend, most had deposited the extra water into Lake Superior and had receded to normal levels.

With a late spring and near drought conditions throughout the region, the rain was more than welcome. The possibilities of more rain during the next week and lower temperatures promise an even later spring for many areas.