Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, August 1 to 2, 2001

Lightning struck the middle turret on the south side of the historic 1894 Red Gym on the UW-Madison campus (Dane Co). The outerbrick in a 4' by6' area was blown out, much of the inner brick crumbled, and a hole was knocked out in a ventilation duct, for a total of $25,000 in damage.

Two rounds of thunderstorms with very heavy rains pounded south-central Wisconsin, the first one during the evening hours of August 1st, and the second round during the pre-dawn hours of August 2nd, resulting in widespread, urban/small stream flooding over the western part of the county. About 4 to 5 inches of rain fell across the western part of Columbia County during the same time period. Luckily, this rain came in two rounds separated by about 4 to 6 hours. Water reached the bumpers of cars in the Wisconsin Dells area.

Two rounds of thunderstorms with very heavy rains pounded south-central Wisconsin, the first one during the evening hours of August 1st, and the second round during the pre-dawn hours of August 2nd, resulting in widespread, countywide urban/small stream flooding. In northwest Iowa County, water covered Highway 14 west of County HWY K, restricting traffic to only one lane for several hours. WSR-88D Doppler radar estimates and unofficial rainfall reports strongly suggest that around 10 inches of rain fell over the northeast corner of Iowa County in the 24 hours ending around 0700CST on August 2nd. Luckily, this rain came in two rounds separated by about 4 to 6 hours.

A home in Mazomanie suffered roof damage due to a lightning fire.

A home in Waunakee sustained heavy fire damage due to a lightning strike.

A home about 3 miles southwest of Sun Prairie sustained fire damage to its roof and attic.

The Trinity Church in Madison sustained damage when it's steeple collapsed due to a lightning fire.

Two rounds of thunderstorms with very heavy rains pounded south-central Wisconsin, the first one during the evening hours of August 1st, and the second round during the pre-dawn hours of August 2nd, resulting in widespread, countywide urban/small stream flooding. In Rock County, water entered many basements between Janesville and Edgerton where 3.28 to 4.56 inches of rain fell. Luckily, this rain came in two rounds separated by about 4 to 6 hours.

Two rounds of thunderstorms with very heavy rains pounded south-central Wisconsin, the first one during the evening hours of August 1st, and the second round during the pre-dawn hours of August 2nd, resulting in flooding or flash flooding in Dane, Iowa, and Sauk Counties. The worst flash flooding occurred in the Black Earth Creek drainage basin of northwest Dane County, especially in the cities of Black Earth and Mazomanie, where at least 10,000 sand-bags were used. Flash flooding also occurred in scattered locations between the village of Roxbury and Middleton. Many roads had gravel shoulder washouts were noted, and numerous homes sustained water damage after water levels reached 2 to 4 feet in depth. Many roads were blocked by fast-flowing water up to 2 to 3 feet deep in spots. The heavy rains damaged the ceiling and light fixtures in Madison Middle School. Also in Madison, a building, containing four radio stations, suffered flood damage to it's contents after water reached a depth of 2.5 feet on the lowest floor. Radio broadcasts were interrupted for a couple hours. Several UW-Madison campus buildings and several other Madison school buildings had water reported in their basements. In DeForest, a construction site was damaged due to a mudslide onto an adjacent road. A 3-mile stretch of a trail between Verona and Fitchburg suffered washout damage. Northwest of Mt. Horeb, a man was saved by a farm couple, after he lost control of his vehicle on a water-covered road near Bohn Creek, and flipped over into the creek. Much tree litter was noted on roads and lawns in and around the city of Madison. Twenty-four hour rainfall amounts in Dane County, ending around 0700CST on August 2nd, ranged from around 3 inches in the eastern part to 9 to over 11 inches in Black Earth. It is unknown how much more than 11 inches fell in Black Earth, since that rain gage over-flowed! In the first round of heavy rains, Mazomanie recorded 2 inches within 20 minutes! Other 24-hour totals in Dane County include 8.7 inches in Mazomanie, 7.89 inches near Waunakee, 7.53 inches west of Middleton, 5.47 inches in McFarland, 5.35 inches in Blue Mounds, and 4 to 6 inches across the city of Madison. For the calendar day of August 2nd, Madison's Truax Field set a new daily rainfall record of 3.40 inches, breaking the old record of .71 inches set back in 1963.

Two rounds of thunderstorms with very heavy rains pounded south-central Wisconsin, the first one during the evening hours of August 1st, and the second round during the pre-dawn hours of August 2nd, resulting in flooding or flash flooding in Dane, Iowa, and Sauk Counties. Flash flooding occurred in scattered locations across Sauk County, but the worst was between Baraboo and Devil's Lake State Park. A road in Baraboo washed out, allowing a semi-trailer tractor to sink into the mud. Washouts of camp sites occurred in the State Park area, and many other roads across the county had gravel shoulder washouts. In Sauk County, Reedsburg measured 6.07 inches, and 5.96 inches fell in Prairie du Sac.