Flash Flood, Grant
- When
- February 18, 8:35 PM CST to February 21, 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Grant County, 2 mi SE of Burton
- Coordinates
- 42.868, -90.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Wisconsin, February 18 to 21, 1997
Rapid snowmelt caused the Grant River between Burton and Potosi to quickly rise out of its banks. Numerous roads in the area were underwater and water crested just below the bridge at Burton.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 1
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 ARX wrote it up.
Rapid snowmelt caused the Grant River between Burton and Potosi to quickly rise out of its banks. Numerous roads in the area were underwater and water crested just below the bridge at Burton. The river crested at 24.64 feet before slowly falling as colder air moved back in.
The radar
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 113 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:39 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Iowa, February 18 to 24, 1997
- Flooding in Nebraska, February 18 to 28, 1997
- Flood in Wisconsin, February 18 to 28, 1997
- Flood in Wisconsin, February 18 to 23, 1997
- Flooding in Iowa, February 18 to 28, 1997
- Strong Wind in Massachusetts, February 18, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, February 18 to 19, 1997
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, February 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: 5608397.