River flooding occurred along some western Wisconsin rivers during the middle of March. The flooding was prompted by runoff from rain earlier in the month along with melting snow and some ice jams.
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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.
The episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.
River flooding occurred along some western Wisconsin rivers during the middle of March. The flooding was prompted by runoff from rain earlier in the month along with melting snow and some ice jams.
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 10:30 PM CST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service La Crosse WI 1130 PM CDT Sun Mar 17 2019 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday) Issued at 232 PM CDT Sun Mar 17 2019 Main concerns in the short-term are on continued flooding in spots across the area. A weak shortwave is moving through the area this afternoon producing flurries. Given some instability to work with, the flurries have almost been persistent enough to call them a snow shower. Not expecting any measurable accumulation and this activity will be limited to western into central Wisconsin, weakening by this evening. Otherwise, look for stratus to remain in place, possibly becoming more broken with time, over the region tonight into Monday. Plan on lows tonight falling into the lower to mid 20s. Looking ahead to Monday, northwest flow aloft will continue along with areas of stratus. Highs could be a little tricky on Monday with the stratus in place with many areas unlikely to get out of the 30s. However, if we see some breaks in the cloud cover, temperatures should jump into the lower 40s during the afternoon. .LONG TERM...(Monday night through Sunday) Issued at 232 PM CDT Sun Mar 17 2019 Dry weather is expected through the coming work week. The upper trough that is forecast to drop south out of the Canadian Rockies Monday and Tuesday looks to remain far enough south and west to limit precip chances over the area. Mid to upper level ridging centered along the Pacific coast will slowly migrate into the plains by mid-week and towards the Upper Midwest by late week. High pressure at the surface will dominate mid to late week with GEFS members showing increasing 850 mb temps through the week under the influence of a milder Pacific airmass. Above average highs in the 40s early in the week and 50s, possibly near 60, later in the week are expected. Lows will fall back into 20s to low 30s through late week with warmer above freezing lows by next weekend. The warming temps will result in continued snow melt runoff into area rivers. The next chance for meaningful precip won't be until next weekend when broad troughing into the plains begins to break down the upper ridge and deep southerly flow and moisture increase across the region. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Monday night) Issued at 1130 PM CDT Sun Mar 17 2019 Cigs: forecast has gotten a lot more challenging as previous mostly solid mvfr cigs have broken up in the evening hours - suggesting periods of sct and/or vfr are a lot more likely than not. Models aren't doing a great job with this, with the RAP showing the most skill. Going to lean the forecast toward the RAP, which is much more optimistic with improved cigs. Confidence not really high here so anticipate updates as satellite/model trends dictate. WX/vsby: no impacts expected. Winds: generally light (under 10 kts) from the west. && .HYDROLOGY... Issued at 232 PM CDT Sun Mar 17 2019 Minor to moderate flooding persists from snowmelt runoff on area Mississippi tribs with the Trempealeau River at Dodge remaining in major flood. Elevated river levels are expected on the mainstem Mississippi this week with minor flooding expected along a few portions of the river. Ice jams will remain a concern over the next few days as well. A Flood Watch has been issued for an ice jam located on the Middle Fork of the Zumbro River near Berne, MN. Flooding is possible along the river if the jam dislodges. Warming temps through mid to late week will lead to additional snowmelt runoff and flood concerns. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...Flood Watch through Tuesday evening for MNZ086. IA...None. && SHORT TERM...Wetenkamp LONG TERM...JM AVIATION...Rieck HYDROLOGY...JM
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service La Crosse WI 251 AM CDT Sun Mar 17 2019 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029- 032>034-041>044-053>055-061-181100- Mitchell-Howard-Winneshiek-Allamakee-Floyd-Chickasaw-Fayette- Clayton-Wabasha-Dodge-Olmsted-Winona-Mower-Fillmore-Houston- Taylor-Clark-Buffalo-Trempealeau-Jackson-La Crosse-Monroe-Juneau- Adams-Vernon-Crawford-Richland-Grant- 251 AM CDT Sun Mar 17 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and southwest into central Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Flooding will continue along Mississippi tributaries as runoff continues from rain and snow melt from Tuesday night through Thursday. Ice jams are also possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday River flooding is expected to continue. For more detail on river flooding, including river levels and forecasts, please visit weather.gov/lacrosse. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Reports of flooding would be appreciated. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... No webinar is scheduled. Boyne
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Runoff from rain earlier in March along with melting snow and ice jams, pushed the Black River out of its banks near Galesville. The river crested over a foot above the flood stage at 13.42 feet on March 18th.
Runoff from rain earlier in March along with melting snow pushed the Yellow River out of its banks in Necedah. The river crested over a foot above the flood stage at 16.61 feet on March 26th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, March 2019
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: 814236, 814235.