CHANHASSEN — The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flood warning until 4:30 p.m. Monday for western Sibley County, north central Brown County, southern Renville County and Redwood County Monday morning.

Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated widespread rainfall amounts of two to five inches that fell since Sunday afternoon. Locations experiencing flooding included Gibbon, Fairfax, Franklin, Morton, Redwood Falls, Morgan, Walnut Grove, Lamberton and Wabasso.

The NWS issued a flood warning for the Cottonwood River at New Ulm and above Springfield, the Redwood River near Redwood Falls and the Minnesota River at Montevideo.

The Cottonwood River at New Ulm was forecast at 11 a.m. Monday to reach 15.1 feet by early evening on the Fourth of July, according to the NWS Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service. Flood stage is 11 feet. The Cottonwood River above Springfield was forecast to reach 25.3 feet on July 3. Flood stage is 22 feet.

The river forecast is based on observed precipitation of three to five inches over the past 24 hours and one to two inches forecast over the next 24 hours. Heavy rains could cause river levels to rise even higher than predicted.

Heavy rain near Morton Sunday night and early Monday caused a mudslide and flooding that temporarily closed State Highway 19. Heavy rains near Franklin flooded fields, causing fast-moving water to run into a nearby drainage ditch, filling it.

Some of the heaviest rain fell near Franklin, Morton, Redwood Falls Hanley Falls and Wood Lake.

At 11:40 pm. Sunday, the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office responded to a tree on fire on U.S. Highway 212, west of Brownton. Brownton Police and Fire Departments and Xcel Energy also responded.

Strong thunderstorms were forecast to return to southwest and south central Minnesota late Monday afternoon and continue during the evening.

After a dry Tuesday, scattered showers and storms were forecast for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Some of the greatest rainfall in the country over the next five days is forecast for southern Minnesota and the Dakotas, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Prediction Center.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.