"A pretty juicy airmass"

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Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:20:01 +0000

If it isn’t the snow, it’s the rain. There is entirely too much weather in the Midwest.



MON., JUN 9, 2008 - 7:07 AM
More storms and rain on the way; governor declares state of emergency
By Chris Rickert and Pat Simms
crickert@madison.com, psimms@madison.com, wsjcity@madison.com

A new batch of severe thunderstorms made a bad situation worse Sunday for water-clogged communities throughout southern Wisconsin.

“This is a pretty juicy air mass,” weather service meteorologist Christopher Franks said Sunday. “We could get another round of thunderstorms and another batch of heavy rain tomorrow.”

But a lot will depend on where the storm sets up, he said. “It really is location, location, location,” Franks said. “Even from county to county, we could see some significant differences.”

On Sunday, roads were flooded throughout the southern portion of the state, dams and creeks were being sandbagged from Dodge to Dane counties, and mud and rock slides were being reported in southwestern Wisconsin. Gov. Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency in 29 counties.

In Madison, police Sgt. Jennifer Krueger Favour had a long list of roads and intersections Sunday night that were impassable and where motorists were stalling, including much of University Avenue, Campus Drive, Whitney Way and Johnson Street.

“Everywhere in the whole city,” she said of the extent of flooding at around 8:45 p.m. “I’m out of bodies to close roads.”

The weather service said Madison recorded at least 1.9 inches of rain on Sunday, breaking the record set on that date in 1874. The city also set a record for rainfall on Saturday with 2.23 inches, nearly a quarter-of-an-inch more than the previous mark in 1993.

Meanwhile, in Dodge County, there was “intense flooding” in Beaver Dam, said sheriff’s Lt. Doug Ninmann, and sandbagging at dams that were overflowing on the Crawfish, Beaver Dam and Rock rivers.

Columbus in Columbia County was hit hard as well.

“There’s a lot of areas in town that you can’t go into,” said Columbia County Emergency Management Director Patrick Beghin. “Some intersections have five feet of water in them.”

In addition, Beghin said there was substantial road damage in the Baraboo bluffs, around the town of Caledonia.

The weather service confirmed Sunday that at least three tornados touched down Saturday, in Columbia County, Vernon and La Crosse counties.

The one that tore through Columbia County for eight miles was F2 (strong) on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds that reached 120 mph, said Jeff Craven, a NWS science and operations officer.

Craven said the storm, a heavy precipitation supercell similar to the one that battered the Stoughton area in August 2005, brought virtually every element to the weather table — hail, flooding, a tornado and a swath of straight-line winds.

“Just about everything that could happen besides snow happened,” Craven said. “This particular brand of supercell can produce just about any kind of severe weather — and this one did.”

The tornado injured six people, one who got a broken leg, at the Willow Mill campground on Highway SS north of Rio, said Beghin.

In addition, Beghin said, flooding forced the evacuation of 35 to 40 people in Larson House, an assisted living facility in Columbus.

“They are staying in one of the local motels for the time being,” he said.

Todd Shea of the weather service’s La Crosse station also said it’s likely there were two more tornados Saturday in Grant County near Woodman.

No significant damage or injuries were reported from either.

The weather service said Sunday that the system that tore the roofs off two houses, leveled a barn and damaged a church in Stoughton on Saturday was not a tornado.

“At this point, we are highly confident it was not a tornado,” Craven said. “There is strong evidence it was straight-line winds in the 70 to 80 miles per hour range.”

Flood watches and warnings were in effect Sunday for many regional rivers, including the Fox, Pecatonica, Kickapoo, Baraboo and Sugar. Motorists were warned not to drive into floodwaters, even those appearing to be only inches deep.

Craven said Sunday that virtually all major rivers in the region are swollen.

“Just about every river (in the region) will be going into flood,” he said.

After storms swept through Dane County on Sunday morning, officials started warning area motorists to stay off the roads, and several local events were canceled. Heavy rains and standing water was creating hazardous conditions, including stalling, officials said. Some streets lost manhole covers and road grates.

— State Journal reporter Gayle Worland and the Associated Press contributed to this story.