Storms systems usually move through the area in an afternoon or a day, but this past weekends storm stalled over southern Wisconsin and storm after storm moved along the front and flooded many communities. The storm total in Milwaukee from Thursday to Sunday was 9.1”. Normal June rainfall in Milwaukee is 3.56”. The normal summer rainfall is 11.17”. Some communities in southern Wisconsin received an entire summer’s rainfall in 4 days. One of those areas was the Wisconsin Dells area with more than 12” of rain. There was so much water; Lake Delton in the Dells no longer exists. Heavy rain typically overflows rivers and lakes, but in the case of Lake Delton it washed away the landmass that was Country Trunk A and the water literally flowed out of the lake into the Wisconsin River. The lake is now 90% empty.

More than 10 rivers in southern Wisconsin have new record flood stages like the Root River in Racine. It crested at 11.3 feet last night and is now receding. That is 3.3 feet above flood stage and crushed the old record of 8.54 feet in 1974. The Fox River in Waukesha was at 8.8 feet as of Monday evening. That is 2.8 feet above flood stage and the old record was 7.42 feet in 1973.

It is quiet the next few days, but more thunderstorms return Thursday afternoon.