Name: Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, June 26 to 27, 1998
Start: 1998-06-26T20:30
End: 1998-06-27T06:00
Location: Wisconsin

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: $245,000
Crop damage: $160,000
Events: 7

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.

Excessive thunderstorm rains produced flash flooding and relatively rapid rises on the larger tributaries in west and southwest Wisconsin. There was at least two feet of water over some roadways across southern Clark County and northern Jackson County, along with flash flooding in some of the steeper terrain of Trempealeau County. A car was washed off the road northwest of Tomah (Monroe Co.).

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Trempealeau

When: June 26, 8:30 PM CST to June 27, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Trempealeau County, Whitehall
Property damage: $60,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.304, -91.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Jackson

When: June 26, 10:15 PM CST to June 27, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson County, Hatfield
Property damage: $70,000
Crop damage: $70,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.319, -90.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Buffalo

When: June 26, 10:42 PM CST to June 27, 2:42 AM CST
Where: Buffalo County, Alma
Property damage: $13,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.380, -91.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Clark

When: June 26, 10:43 PM CST to June 27, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Clark County, Chili
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $40,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.735, -90.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, La Crosse

When: June 27, 12:15 AM CST to 2:30 AM CST
Where: La Crosse County, La Crosse
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 43.907, -91.115 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Monroe

When: June 27, 12:57 AM CST to 2:00 AM CST
Where: Monroe County, 1 mi NW of Tomah
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.946, -90.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Vernon

When: June 27, 1:30 AM CST to 3:30 AM CST
Where: Vernon County, Viroqua
Property damage: $12,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.594, -90.834 (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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, June 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: 5652852, 5652853, 5652858, 5652854, 5652856, 5652855, 5652857.