Flash Flood in Wisconsin, August 5, 1998

Name: Flash Flood in Wisconsin, August 5, 1998
Start: 1998-08-05T07:00
End: 1998-08-05T11:00
Location: Wisconsin

August 5, 1998 · NWS MKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

, dumping 4 to 6 inches of rain between 0400CST and 0835CST in Waterford. Water levels in some farm fields reached an unbelievable 5 to 6 feet.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
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 MKX wrote it up.

A series of thunderstorms, slowly moving northeast at 10 mph, trained through western Racine Co., dumping 4 to 6 inches of rain between 0400CST and 0835CST in Waterford. Water levels in some farm fields reached an unbelievable 5 to 6 feet. Highway 164 north of Waterford was closed due to "rivers" of water 1 to 3 feet deep surging across the road surface. Shoulder gravel washouts were noted on Highway 164 and several other rural roads. A total of 10 homes were damaged. One home in Waterford sustained severe damage when its basement wall collapsed due to water pressure. A couple retaining walls in a Waterford subdivision were pushed over by the flood waters. The synoptic reasons for this flooding can be found in the August 4th entry for flash flooding in Columbia Co.

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:02 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Racine

When: August 5, 7:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Racine County, Waterford
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.730, -87.812 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, August 1998

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: 5664600.