Flood, Polk
- When
- April 6, 6:00 AM CST to April 20, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Polk forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.461, -92.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Wisconsin, April 6 to 20, 1997
The St. 5 feet on 4/12/97.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS MPX wrote it up.
The St. Croix River reached flood stage of 87 feet on 4/6/97 and crested at 90.5 feet on 4/12/97. This was the third highest crest ever measured. The river is monitored in Stillwater Minnesota. The river fell below flood stage on 4/20/97. The Stillwater lift bridge was closed on 4/5/97 and reopened 4/18/97. Landing Park in Osceola was inundated by flooding. The river crested at 690.5 feet in Hudson which was also the 3rd highest level recorded. Street flooding was also reported in Hudson and Lakefront Park was inundated. Highway 10 between Prescott Wisconsin and far southern Denmark township in Washington county remained open due to slightly lower than anticipated crest and tenacious efforts by the Minnesota and Wisconsin Department of Transportation workers in building sand and gravel dikes. Many homes on Lake Street in Prescott experienced heavy flooding.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Pierce
- When
- April 6, 6:00 AM CST to April 20, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Pierce forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.720, -92.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, St. Croix
- When
- April 6, 6:00 AM CST to April 20, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- St. Croix forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.034, -92.453 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Iowa, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Michigan, April 6 to 7, 1997
- High Wind in Iowa, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Michigan, April 6 to 7, 1997
- High Wind in Illinois, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in South Dakota, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5602044, 5602045, 5602046.