Photo by Deb Gau In addition to heavy rains, the Marshall also experienced wind gusts topping 70 mph over the weekend. After severe storms early Saturday morning, trees were damaged and uprooted around the city. One tree, located outside the Lyon County Apartments on South Fourth Street, knocked over a Little Free Library and damaged parked vehicles.

MARSHALL — Flash flooding, fallen trees and other damage were all reported in Lyon County this weekend and Monday.

The Marshall area received several inches of rain as well as high winds, in what Mayor Bob Byrnes called an “unprecedented” weather event.

“Over the past three days we received between 5 and 6 inches of total rainfall, and a substantial amount of that — nearly a third — has occurred on Monday morning,” Byrnes said in a public video message Monday. “The ground is saturated. We do have some street flooding in the community.”

The flash flooding came after Marshall also experienced high winds that caused widespread tree damage, Byrnes said.

Other damage reported around Lyon County over the weekend included damage to solar panels outside Lakeview School in Cottonwood, and some reports of road flooding and washouts, said Lyon County Emergency Manager Emily Coequyt.

The city of Tracy reported areas of flooding on Sunday, said Tracy Public Works Director Shane Daniels.

“We did have a few streets that were blocked off for a few hours Sunday morning,” Daniels said. “The biggest task was keeping up with the sewage system.”

Daniels said Tracy ended up bypassing its sanitary sewer on Sunday morning, and came close to doing so again after more heavy rain on Monday morning.

Rainfall amounts varied across southwest Minnesota this weekend. According to NOAA online weather data, 1.83 inches of precipitation was observed in Marshall on Saturday. An additional 1.95 inches of precipitation was observed on Sunday, and 0.65 inches was observed Monday morning.

So far, a total of 6.17 inches of precipitation has fallen in Marshall in August, NOAA data said. Total observed precipitation so far this year is 26.49 inches. Normally, the total precipitation for Marshall by Aug.18 would be 19.8 inches.

Flooding closed a couple of roads in Lyon County on Sunday afternoon, according to National Weather Service storm reports. Lyon County law enforcement reported that part of Lyon County Road 6, between U.S. Highway 59 and Lyon County Road 35 (South Saratoga Street), was closed due to water over the road. They also reported that part of 170th Street, located southeast of Russell, was closed due to flooding.

In Marshall, “We did have winds in excess of 70 miles per hour early Saturday morning that did cause a substantial amount of tree damage,” Byrnes said.

City workers and emergency responders were called out Saturday to clear fallen trees that were blocking roads.

Byrnes said the city lost about 30 to 40 trees in public parks. Damage was also reported to buildings and property around the community. Tricia Stelter, director of operations at Marshall Public Schools, said outdoor equipment on the district’s soccer, baseball and football fields was impacted, and a small portion of siding came off of Southview Elementary.

At Calvary Catholic Cemetery on East Main Street, there were some areas of significant storm damage.

“There were three big trees that were uprooted, and five grave markers were knocked down,” said Marc Klaith, a member of the cemetery board.

Klaith and other cemetery board members said they were notified of the damage around 8:30 a.m.Saturday and came out to help cut up and remove fallen branches.

As cleanup efforts continue, Coequyt said she was anticipating that Lyon County may have another emergency declaration, similar to the one issued after a severe storm caused flash flooding in Marshall in July. However while the county might meet eligibility thresholds for state assistance, it would not meet the federal threshold for individual assistance.

Byrnes said Monday that the focus for Marshall city workers would be clearing streets.

“Once the rain stops, they will be out with the street sweepers removing some of the small twigs and leaves and debris,” he said.

The city was encouraging people not to park on the street, so debris could be cleared away.

Byrnes also urged Marshall residents to make sure their sump pumps were discharging into the street, and not the sanitary sewer. Clearing debris away from storm sewer drains would also help water to clear.

“All of our systems are working,” including sewage lift stations and pumping systems, Byrnes said.

The Marshall area might get a break from the rain this week. NWS forecasts are sunny for most of the week, with high temperatures in the 80s. A chance of showers and thunderstorms is in the forecast for Thursday night, according to the NWS.