Milwaukee Latest Target In Summer Of Flash Floods

Car roofs barely visible in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin late Saturday night/early
Sunday morning as that region became
the latest victim of an epic summer'
of flash floods in the U.S. 

 Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the latest city over the weekend to drown in extreme rains in a summer that has brought a series of record-busting floods.    

More than a foot of rain was reported in some areas near Milwaukee Saturday night and early Sunday.   

One section of Milwaukee reported an incredible 14.49 inches of rain.  If confirmed by the National Weather Service, that would set a new 24 hour rainfall record for the entire state of Wisconsin. (The current record is 11.92 inches in Mellon, Wisconsin back in 1946.) 

The National Weather Service office at the airport roughly six miles south of downtown Milwaukee reported 6.69 inches.  Two inches of that fell within an hour. 

As in many flash floods of this type, the rainfall was highly localized. Mount Pleasant, just 30 miles south of Milwaukee, reported just over an inch of rain, with no trouble there. 

Since the heaviest rain targeted a large urban area, the trouble escalated almost immediately late Saturday night. Hundreds of basements suddenly flooded, dozens of streets and roads became instant rivers.  The Milwaukee River at Estabrook Park reached a record crest of 10.52 feet.

Residents described their cars suddenly submerged, and water cascading through trim, doorframes and vents, filling houses knee deep or worse. As you might imagine, the damage is severe, especially since so many homes and businesses took on water. 

 The storms forced the early closure of the Wisconsin State Fair Saturday night. Its final day on Sunday did not open because of the flooding, notes Wisconsin Public Radio.

The USA Triathlon canceled its Sprint National Championships and Paratriathlon National Championships Sunday due to flooding and damage to the courses.

The Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport temporarily shut down due to flooded runways, taxiways and an underpass tunnel.

Milwaukee and several surrounding communities were under states of emergency Sunday. The city's dispatch center received over 500 calls regarding flooded basements, inundated roads and stuck cars. 

Across Milwaukee, and in nearby suburbs like Wauwatosa,  people were rescued from homes by boat.

So far, no deaths or serious injuries have been reported from Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee flood was part of the same system that also caused 80 mph winds in Nebraska that led to at least one death. 

Separately, wild downpours this weekend dumped 11 inches of rain around Sanibel Island and St. James City, Florida over the weekend, causing serious flash flooding there. 

The Milwaukee storm was one of a serious of extreme flash floods that have hit various parts of the nation this summer. 

The most notable, of course, was the extreme floods that hit the Hill Country of Texas on the Fourth of July weekend, killing 136 people.

Other exceptional floods hit places like Ruidoso, New Mexico, parts of New Jersey, Illinois, Oklahoma and other states this summer. 

Flash flooding is a risk every summer, but some of these floods have gotten more extreme and more frequent. 

Climate change allows the atmosphere to hold more moisture than the cooler global air we had decades ago.  If the right storm comes along, that added atmospheric water unleashes itself in torrential downpours, causing floods much bigger than what would have been expected, say, a century ago.