Flooding in Wisconsin, May 22 to 29, 2004

Name: Flooding in Wisconsin, May 22 to 29, 2004
Start: 2004-05-22T16:56
End: 2004-05-29T07:48
Location: Wisconsin

May 22 to 29, 2004 · NWS MKX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

The Baraboo River at Baraboo rose above its flood stage of 16 feet on May 22nd at 1556 CST. 67 feet above flood stage.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $200,000
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 MKX wrote it up.

The Baraboo River at Baraboo rose above its flood stage of 16 feet on May 22nd at 1556 CST. The river crested at 19.67 feet on May 26th at 0330 CST, 3.67 feet above flood stage. At this crested level, minor flooding occurred. The river fell below flood stage on May 29th at 0748 CST. The Baraboo River at Rock Springs rose above its flood stage of 18.5 feet on May 23rd at 1342 CST. The river crested at 20.99 feet on May 25th at 0700 CST, 2.49 feet above flood stage. At this crested level, major flooding occurred. An estimated 200K dollars in crop damage was reported along the Baraboo River. The river fell below flood stage on May 27th at 1828 CST.

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 Milwaukee, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 22, 2:34 PM CST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 22, 2:34 PM CST, 2 hours 22 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
334 PM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004

.DISCUSSION...FORECAST FOCUS ON SEVERE WX AND HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL.

A COUPLE OF MESOLOWS MOVED EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN WI TODAY AND HELPED
TO HOLD SURFACE BOUNDARY CLOSE TO THE WI/IL BORDER. AFTER LAST
NIGHTS HEAVY RAINFALL THE AIRMASS OVER SOUTHERN WI HAS REMAINED
FAIRLY COOL AND STABLE. HOWEVER...JUST TO OUR WEST IN IOWA...THE
INSTABILITY HAS BEEN INCREASING STEADILY DURING THE AFTERNOON.
ALTHOUGH THE MODELS HAVE BEEN TOO QUICK TO EXPAND QPF OVER CWA THIS
AFTERNOON...BELIEVE THAT ONCE THE CONVECTION BEGINS TO OUR WEST IT
WILL SPREAD INTO SOUTHERN WI QUICKLY THIS EVENING. WEAK S/W AND
VORT MAX IN EASTERN CO SHOULD HELP TO PUSH CONVECTION EAST AS IT
MOVES OUT INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS THIS EVENING. ALTHOUGH SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS IN FORECAST MAY BE TRENDING THEM IN TOO QUICKLY...FELT
UNCOMFORTABLE LEAVING IT OUT FOR TOO LONG.

HPC IS STILL OUTLOOKING SOUTHERN WI FOR 1-2 INCHES OF RAINFALL AND
APPEAR TO BE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH MODEL GUIDANCE. HAVE
CONTINUED FLOOD WATCH INTO SUNDAY MORNING WITH SATURATED SOILS AND
RISING RIVERS.

ETA MODEL TAKING SURFACE LOW MUCH FARTHER WEST THAN GFS MODEL SO
EACH MODEL HAS DIFFERENT SCENARIO FOR SUNDAY. THE ETA SOLUTION
WOULD LEND ITSELF TO MORE OF A SEVERE WEATHER SITUATION WITH A
STRONGER WARM SECTOR AND DESTABILIZATION. AT THIS POINT WE WILL WAIT
UNTIL SUNDAY TO SEE WHICH TURNS OUT TO HAVE THE BEST ANSWER BUT
EITHER WAY IT APPEARS THAT THUNDERSTORMS WILL RUMBLE ACROSS
SOUTHERN WI AGAIN ON SUNDAY.

A BRIEF BREAK IN THE ACTION MONDAY...AND THEN HOPEFULLY DRY AGAIN FOR
A FEW DAYS AROUND MIDWEEK.

&&

.MKX...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...FLOOD WATCH FOR ENTIRE CWA
TONIGHT UNTIL SUNDAY MORNING.

Hazardous weather outlook, May 22, 3:37 AM CST, 13 hours 19 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
437 AM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004

WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-231000-
COLUMBIA-DANE-DODGE-FOND DU LAC-GREEN-GREEN LAKE-IOWA-JEFFERSON-
KENOSHA-LAFAYETTE-MARQUETTE-MILWAUKEE-OZAUKEE-RACINE-ROCK-SAUK-
SHEBOYGAN-WALWORTH-WASHINGTON-WAUKESHA-
437 AM CDT SAT MAY 22 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHERN WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND THIS
EVENING. DAMAGING THUNDERSTORMS WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE POSSIBLE.
FLOODING IS ALSO LIKELY FROM THE RUNOFF OF RECENT HEAVY RAINS...ALSO
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINS ARE POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY AND MONDAY.
DAMAGING THUNDERSTORMS WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE THE MAIN THREAT...BUT
A TORNADO THREAT IS POSSIBLE SUNDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...IN
ADDITION TO RAINFALL OBSERVERS.

HENTZ

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, Sauk

When: May 22, 4:56 PM CST to May 29, 7:48 AM CST
Where: Sauk forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Sauk

When: May 23, 1:42 PM CST to May 27, 6:28 PM CST
Where: Sauk forecast zone
Crop damage: $200,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.427, -89.948 (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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, May 2004

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: 5404106, 5404107.