Wisconsin, 2002

Flooding in Wisconsin, May 10 to 12, 2002

May 10 to 12, 2002 · NWS GRB · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Rainfall in the Menominee river basin caused minor flooding along the river in Florence and Marinette counties. The river experienced moderate flooding in May 2002 and was near flood stage even before the rain fell.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 GRB wrote it up.

Rainfall in the Menominee river basin caused minor flooding along the river in Florence and Marinette counties. The river experienced moderate flooding in May 2002 and was near flood stage even before the rain fell.

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 Green Bay, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 10, 3:30 AM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 10, 3:30 AM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREEN BAY WI
430 AM CDT FRI MAY 10 2002

FCST CONCERN FOCUS ON EXPECTED PCPN THIS WEEKEND.

DEEP LOW OVER JAMES BAY ATTM WILL CONTINUE TO LIFT TO THE NORTHEAST.
HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE PLAINS TO SLIDE EAST OVER THE STATE TODAY. WINDS
STILL GUSTING TO NEAR 30 MPH MANY PLACES IN CWA EARLY THIS MORNING. THIS
HAS HELPED KEEP OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES UP. BREEZY MORNING EXPECTED WITH
WINDS DIMINISHING FAIRLY QUICKLY IN THE AFTERNOON AS THE GRADIENT
RELAXES. WRAP AROUND LOW CLOUDS HANGING IN OVER NORTH COUNTIES WITH A
FEW VERY LIGHT SHOWERS CONTINUING OVERNIGHT. IMMEDIATE QUESTION IS SKY
CONDITION FOR TODAY. BUFKIT SOUNDINGS SHOWING SIG UNSTABLE LAPSE RATES
BELOW 850 MB. LOOKING AT UPSTREAM SAT FROM YESTERDAY SHOWED SIG CU FORM
OVER DAKOTAS/MONTANA. WILL BE A BIT MORE PESSIMISTIC AND USE PARTLY
SUNNY WORDING TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS.

MODELS FAIRLY SIMILAR. HAVE FOLLOWED A BLEND OF AVN AND ETA.  AVN SHOWED
BETTER 500MB ANAL AT 6Z THOUGH ETA DOING WELL UNDER THIS PATTERN.
TIMING OF PCPN HAS SLOWED SOME FROM MODEL RUNS 24 HOURS AGO. DEVELOPING
LOW IN PLAINS TO BRING WARM FRONT NORTH INTO NORTHERN IL LATE SAT. LLVL
50 KT JET FOCUSES INTO NORTHERN IL/SOUTHERN WI BY SAT EVE. WE STAY ON
COOL SIDE OF FRONT WITH EASTERLY FLOW. THUNDERSTORM/HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL
TO BE SOUTH OF OUR CWA. HAVE DOWN PLAYED THUNDER IN FORECAST AS
PARAMETERS NOT IMPRESSIVE. THOUGH DYNAMICS SEEN WITH RRQ OF JET OVER
SOUTHERN CWA STILL WARRANT NOT PULLING MENTION ALL TOGETHER ATTM.

HAVE NOT STRAYED FAR FROM TEMP GUIDANCE. PLEASANT DAY TODAY WILL GIVE
WAY TO COOL WEEKEND...ESPECIALLY IN THE EAST WITH MODERATE EAST FLOW OFF
COOL LAKE.

.GRB...NONE.

TE
WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/GRB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Florence

When
May 10, 6:00 AM CST to 10:10 AM CST
Where
Florence forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.848, -88.398 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Marinette

When
May 11, 8:36 AM CST to May 12, 10:21 PM CST
Where
Marinette forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
45.351, -88.002 (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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, May 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: 5295858, 5295859.