Wisconsin, 2000

Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, May 31, 2000

May 31, 2000 · NWS ARX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Thunderstorms dropped 4 to 8 inches of rain, causing extensive flash flooding. Several mudslides were reported by law enforcement officials, while numerous roads were covered with water as much as 2 to 3 feet deep.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$215,000
Crop damage
$115,000
Events
4

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.

Thunderstorms dropped 4 to 8 inches of rain, causing extensive flash flooding. Several mudslides were reported by law enforcement officials, while numerous roads were covered with water as much as 2 to 3 feet deep. Near Readstown (Vernon County), the banks of streams and creeks caved in due to the torrential rain. The total damage caused by flood waters, which lasted into the morning hours of June 1, was estimated to be nearly one million dollars, prompting Vernon, Grant, Crawford and Richland counties to be declared a federal disaster area.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Grant

When
May 31, 9:45 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Grant County, Countywide
Property damage
$50,000
Crop damage
$35,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.868, -90.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Vernon

When
May 31, 10:40 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Vernon County, Countywide
Property damage
$60,000
Crop damage
$20,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.594, -90.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Crawford

When
May 31, 11:30 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Crawford County, Countywide
Property damage
$60,000
Crop damage
$30,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.240, -90.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Richland

When
May 31, 11:45 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Richland County, Countywide
Property damage
$45,000
Crop damage
$30,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.376, -90.429 (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 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, May 2000

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: 5142438, 5142915, 5142439, 5142440.