For a while late Tuesday afternoon, it seemed as though Central Minnesota was either going to sink or float away.

A line of storms dumped more than 2 inches of water on St. Cloud in a couple of hours before the drops finally stopped about 6 p.m.

And your umbrella might not dry out for the next couple of days.

Forecasts call for 1-3 inches of rain through Thursday, according to Bob Weisman, St. Cloud State University meteorologist.

That could bring about a repeat of flash flooding that occurred Tuesday, bringing cars to a halt on some streets and washing out the St. Cloud River Bats' game.

According to Weisman, a St. Cloud State rain gauge recorded 2.33 inches of precipitation between 4 and 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Low-lying areas, including several intersections in St. Cloud, filled with several feet of water. That caused St. Cloud police to divert traffic and, at least along Veterans Drive just west of 33rd Avenue North, assist drivers whose cars stalled in water that was over the wheel wells.

Other problem areas included Ninth Avenue South and Minnesota Highway 23, 25th Avenue North and Fourth Street, and a section of 18th Street South in the 10th-12th Street area, according to St. Cloud Fire Capt. Pat Ellering.

"We had several intersections closed and several cars stranded," Ellering said. "It was a lot of rain in a short amount of time and the system wasn't able to handle it."


The situation was relatively short-lived, with all the fire crews back at their stations by 6:30 p.m.

Towing companies saw similar effects. All-Care Towing towed 30 cars between 5 and 7 p.m., said Tim Jansky, All-Care president. Andy's Towing had about 12 weather-related calls, according to Manager Scott Neitzke. Phil Collins, owner of Collins Brothers Towing, said he had about eight weather-related calls.

"It was bad. We had several intersections blocked off and barricaded," St. Cloud police Sgt. Brett Mushatt said.

He said the primary damage was to vehicles that stalled in the water. There were no reported injuries or power outages, he said.

The situation was worse than the routine street flooding that sometimes occurs with heavy rains.

"There's certain areas that seem to flood out more regularly, but there's areas that I've never seen flooded that were flooded (Tuesday)," Mushatt said.

Twenty-fifth Avenue got so much water Don Blonigen of Digital Majik Computer Clinic said he saw a person canoeing in the street.

"Cars were driving by and waves were crashing up (to the window)," said Teresa Klinkner, owner of North Village Personal Tax and Accounting Service at 547-25th Ave. N. She dialed 911 at about 4 p.m. in an effort to have the street blocked to traffic. She found dozens of other businesses in the city were making similar calls.

"Water was coming in the front door and about 3-4 inches had built up into the entryway," Klinkner said.

Klinkner's neighbors at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans also were experiencing flooding, and brought shop-vacs and squeegees to help Klinkner with the water damage.

In Sartell, Riverside Avenue was flooded in the area near the Verso paper mill. Parts of Pinecone Road also were flooded.

Little Falls registered a half-inch of rain in a half-hour, starting at about 6 p.m. Tuesday. Alexandria got almost that much between 5 and 6 p.m. Sauk Centre received a half-inch between 4:15 and 5 p.m.

The storm was very selective, however. Other areas received little precipitation. St. Cloud Regional Airport, for example, reported .06 inches of rain between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

"The storm moved along a very narrow line," Weisman said. "The areas that got hit got hit hard."

Weisman said the daily rain total at the university was 2.74 inches on Tuesday - the 11th-highest total in the 20 years the school has been conducting weather observation. Tuesday's rainfall was the most since 3.14 inches fell Aug. 12-13, 2010.

Any rain today or Thursday isn't expected to be as strong as Tuesday, but it will be more persistent and there is more chance that it will rain consistently throughout the day, Weisman said.

It might not take much more moisture to postpone the Bats again. They're scheduled to make up the rainout with a pair of seven-inning games at 1:05 p.m. today at Joe Faber Field.

Two area prep baseball teams already had their state championship games postponed before the rains came Tuesday. Representatives from St. Cloud Cathedral and Eden Valley-Watkins high schools were told to call by 8 a.m. today to determine whether to bus to the Target Field in Minneapolis. If the weather is bad, the tournament will be moved back to Thursday. If the weather clears up, EV-W plays Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial at noon for the Class A championship. Cathedral faces LaCrescent at 3 p.m.

It's just as well they didn't try Tuesday, when a slow-moving line of strong thunderstorms dropped funnel clouds over parts of the Twin Cities metro area. The National Weather Service reported one confirmed tornado touchdown in the northwestern suburb of Coon Rapids. There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage, but trees and power lines were downed. Tornado sirens sounded in several communities including St. Paul, where heavy rain caused street flooding on University Avenue.

Tuesday's rain came from two waves of storms. More than 13,000 Xcel Energy customers in the Twin Cities lost power as the first line rumbled through overnight. Authorities in Eagan said a lightning strike likely started a house fire shortly before 5 a.m. Damage was estimated at $100,000 but the family escaped without injury.

St. Cloud Rotary, organizer of the weekly Summertime by George! activities at Eastman Park, plan to go forward with tonight's event by using hard surfaces instead of wet grass. Monroe Crossing bluegrass band will perform in the parking lot between Eastman Park and Seventh Street South. Vendors will set up either on a temporarily closed section of Seventh Street between Lake Boulevard and 12th Avenue South or in the parking lot, organizer Dave Tripp said. Craft activities for kids will be available in the Eastman Park building.

The event will go as scheduled, from 5-9 p.m. with music at 6:30 p.m., unless there is lightning.

So are organizers of other area festivals. Foley Fun Days are scheduled to conclude today. St. Cloud's Granite City Days are scheduled from Thursday through Sunday, partially coinciding with Rapids River Days in Sauk Rapids and Valley Daze in Eden Valley.

This report includes information from Times staffers Lisa Schwarz, Charly Haley, Frank Lee, Tom Elliott, Sue Halena and from The Associated Press.