Flood in Wisconsin, April 12 to 19, 2002

Name: Flood in Wisconsin, April 12 to 19, 2002
Start: 2002-04-12T08:00
End: 2002-04-19T08:00
Location: Wisconsin

April 12 to 19, 2002 · NWS DLH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Rapid snowmelt and heavy rain sent the Montreal River out of its banks, flooding three houses and five businesses in Hurley. The snowmelt and rain caused numerous creeks and streams to flood.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.3 million
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 DLH wrote it up.

Rapid snowmelt and heavy rain sent the Montreal River out of its banks, flooding three houses and five businesses in Hurley. The snowmelt and rain caused numerous creeks and streams to flood. Seventy percent of Iron County's roads were closed due to high water.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 12, 2:30 AM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 12, 2:30 AM CST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
330 AM CDT THU APR 12 2002

LOSING CLOUDS RAPIDLY ACROSS THE CWA RIGHT NOW.  DRY
ADVECTION/ISENTROPIC SUBSIDENCE DOING THE TRICK.  SOME DENSE FOG HAS
DEVELOPED OVER AITKIN AND BRAINERD.  ISSUED STF...WILL CONSIDER
DENSE FOG ADVISORY BEFORE ISSUANCE OF ZFP.  OTHERWISE...LOOK FOR A
SUNNY START TO THE DAY.  THE FAR SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE FORECAST
AREA WILL SEE SOME CLOUDS AT SUNRISE BUT SHOULD CLEAR OUT QUICKLY.

WITH FULL SUN... LOOK FOR TEMPERATURES TO REACH THE 60S OVER MUCH OF
THE AREA.  WEAK WAA AT LOW LEVELS WILL HELP BRING TEMPS UP AS WELL.
H85 TEMPS WILL RANGE FROM 4 TO 8 DEG C BY SUNSET.

CONCERNING FLOOD WATCH... NO EXTENSION BEYOND 9Z REQUIRED.  CURRENT
WARNINGS HAVE THIS SITUATION COVERED.  EXPECT ABUNDANT SUNSHINE AND
WARM TEMPS TO MELT THE REMAINING SNOW PACK ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE.
THIS WILL KEEP CURRENT FLOODING RIVERS AND CREEKS AT HIGH LEVELS.
DONT FORESEE ANY RELIEF UNTIL SNOW PACK IS GONE.

AVN/ETA IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH APPROACH OF NEXT SGFNT H5 S/W.
WILL SEE INCREASE IN CLOUDS FROM WEST TO EAST TONIGHT WITH NEXT
CHANCE OF PRECIP SATURDAY AFTERNOON. BEST H7-H5 Q CONVERGENCE IS
LATE AFTERNOON.  ETA/AVN POOLS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE MAINLY ACROSS THE
NORTHERN BORDER SO WILL GIVE HIGHER POPS FOR THIS REGION SATURDAY.

.DLH...FLOOD WARNINGS IN EFFECT FOR WIC003-007-031

KFM

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Iron

When: April 12, 8:00 AM CST to April 19, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Iron forecast zone
Property damage: $1.3 million
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 46.317, -90.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, April 2002

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: 5306172.