Wisconsin, 2019Flood in Wisconsin, March 18 to 31, 2019
March 18 to 31, 2019 · NWS MKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone
A warm spell along with some rainfall led to the melting of 8-12 inches of snow on a frozen ground. Runoff led to long term river flooding on the Fox River of central WI.
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- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $1,000
- 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.
A warm spell along with some rainfall led to the melting of 8-12 inches of snow on a frozen ground. Runoff led to long term river flooding on the Fox River of central WI.
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 Mar 18, 2:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 18, 2:45 PM CST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan WI
345 PM CDT Mon Mar 18 2019
.SHORT TERM...
Tonight Through Tuesday Night...Forecast Confidence Is Medium.
Stratocumulus clouds are gradually becoming more scattered across
the area with peak heating, with some broken sky cover still
lingering. Expect this to gradually diminish into early this
evening across the area. Some middle to high clouds should move
through the area tonight into Tuesday morning. Some question as to
how thick they will be during this period. Given this, kept lows
in the middle to upper 20s. May need cooler lows if these clouds
end up being thinner.
Light southwest winds bring slightly milder air into the area
Tuesday, with highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s. May see a lake
breeze near the shoreline with south to southeast winds in the
afternoon. Dry conditions are expected.
Area remains between two 500 mb shortwave troughs passing through
the region. Should see an increase in clouds Tuesday night, though
air column remains dry enough to negate any precipitation.
Wednesday Through Thursday Night...Forecast Confidence Is High.
Models bring the northern portion of the 500 mb shortwave trough
southeast through the area Wednesday, along with a surface cold
front. Forecast soundings are showing some clouds moving through,
but moisture is rather meager through a deep layer. Thus, kept
most precipitation mention out of the forecast. Highs should reach
into the upper 40s to around 50, despite the increase in clouds.
North northwest flow at 500 mb then moves into the region
Wednesday night into Thursday night. The GFS tries to bring a
fairly strong 500 mb shortwave trough through the area Thursday
night, with the ECMWF and Canadian models further to the east.
Kept dry forecast going for now. Temperatures should remain mild
for this time of year.
.LONG TERM...
Friday Through Monday...Forecast Confidence Is Medium.
Models are showing a trend toward a 500 mb ridge axis building
into the region this weekend. There are some differences with
features, though they all show high pressure sliding southeast
through the region Friday into Saturday, remaining dry Sunday.
There may be some precipitation chances by Monday, though details
this far out are murky at best. Highs in the 50s look reasonable
for most of this period.
&&
.AVIATION(21Z TAF UPDATES)...
Scattered with some broken stratocumulus clouds should gradually
diminish into early this evening. Generally light west winds are
expected. Some middle to high clouds should move through tonight
into Tuesday morning. Winds will be light. May see patchy light
ground fog in low areas later tonight and early Tuesday morning.
May see more diurnal stratocumulus cloud development in the late
morning and afternoon on Tuesday, but not confident enough to
mention in TAFs at this time. Any ceilings here would be VFR
category. Light southwest winds are expected Tuesday, with south
to southeast winds near the lake in the afternoon.
&&
.MARINE...
Mainly light winds and low wave heights are expected tonight into
Tuesday across the nearshore and open waters of Lake Michigan.
Southwest winds should increase Tuesday night into Wednesday, then
veer west Wednesday then northwest Wednesday night, after a cold
front moves across the lake.
Some gusts to 25 knots are possible over the northern portions of
the open waters Tuesday night into Wednesday. Northwest winds may
increase again Thursday night into Friday over the lake, with
some gusts to 25 knots possible over the open waters. Otherwise,
relatively light winds and low wave heights are expected later in
the week.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...
River flooding will continue for the foreseeable future on the
main stem rivers across the area, with some of the smaller stem
rivers starting to crest and slowly fall. No appreciable rainfall
is expected this week and into this weekend. Thus, a gradual
melting of any remaining snow north of the area should continue to
keep main stem rivers like the Wisconsin, Rock and Fox (north)
high for awhile. See our Rivers and Lakes link on our website, and
our latest Situation Report, for the latest river flooding
information.
&&
.MKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WI...None.
LM...None.
&&
Tonight/Tuesday and Aviation/Marine...Wood
Tuesday Night through Monday...Wood
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 18, 2:48 PM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED
National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan WI
348 PM CDT Mon Mar 18 2019
WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-192100-
Marquette-Green Lake-Fond Du Lac-Sheboygan-Sauk-Columbia-Dodge-
Washington-Ozaukee-Iowa-Dane-Jefferson-Waukesha-Milwaukee-
Lafayette-Green-Rock-Walworth-Racine-Kenosha-
348 PM CDT Mon Mar 18 2019
This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of east central
Wisconsin, south central Wisconsin and southeast Wisconsin.
.DAY ONE...Tonight
Many area rivers remain at or above flood stage. Multiple roads
remain closed due to flood waters.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Monday
River flooding will continue through the week and into at least
this weekend.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Spotter activation will not be needed, but any flooding reports
are appreciated.
LMZ643>646-192100-
Sheboygan to Port Washington WI-
Port Washington to North Point Light WI-
North Point Light to Wind Point WI-
Wind Point WI to Winthrop Harbor IL-
348 PM CDT Mon Mar 18 2019
This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the nearshore waters from
Sheboygan Wisconsin to Winthrop Harbor Illinois.
.DAY ONE...Tonight
No hazardous weather is expected at this time.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Monday
No hazardous weather is expected at this time.
LMZ080-261-362-364-366-563-565-567-669-671-673-675-777-779-868-
870-872-874-876-878-192100-
Lake Michigan Michigan City IN to St. Joseph MI 5 NM offshore to
mid-line of lake.-
Lake Michigan from Seul Choix Point to Rock Island Passage 5NM
offshore to Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan South of a line from Seul Choix Point to the
Mackinac Bridge and North of a line from Charlevoix MI to South
Fox Island 5NM offshore-
Lake Michigan from Charlevoix to Point Betsie MI 5NM Offshore to
mid lake-
Lake Michigan from Point Betsie to Manistee MI 5NM offshore to
Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from Rock Island Passage to Sturgeon Bay WI 5NM
offshore to mid lake-
Lake Michigan from Sturgeon Bay to Two Rivers WI 5NM offshore to
Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from Two Rivers to Sheboygan WI 5NM offshore to Mid
Lake-
Lake Michigan from Sheboygan to Port Washington WI 5NM offshore
to Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from Port Washington to North Point Light WI 5NM
offshore to Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from North Point Light to Wind Point WI 5NM
offshore to Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from Wind Point WI to Winthrop Harbor IL 5NM
offshore to Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from Winthrop Harbor to Wilmette Harbor IL 5NM
offshore to Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from Wilmette Harbor to Michigan City in 5NM
offshore to Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from Pentwater to Manistee MI 5NM offshore to Mid
Lake-
Lake Michigan from Whitehall to Pentwater MI 5NM offshore to Mid
Lake-
Lake Michigan from Grand Haven to Whitehall MI 5NM offshore to
Mid Lake-
Lake Michigan from Holland to Grand Haven MI 5NM offshore to Mid
Lake-
Lake Michigan from South Haven to Holland MI 5NM offshore to Mid
lake-
Lake Michigan from St Joseph to South Haven MI 5NM offshore to
Mid Lake-
348 PM CDT Mon Mar 18 2019
This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the open waters of Lake Michigan.
.DAY ONE...Tonight
No hazardous weather is expected at this time.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Monday
No hazardous weather is expected at this time.
Wood
www.weather.gov/mkx
Flood, Green Lake
- When
- March 18, 4:00 PM CST to March 31, 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Green Lake County, 0.53 mi SW of Princeton to 0.4 mi W of Princeton
- Cause
- Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 43.845, -89.128
The Fox River at Princeton reached moderate flood stage, cresting at 11.12 feet the late afternoon of March 24th. There is widespread flooding of lowland and wooded land in the Princeton area. Floodwaters affect Jefferson St. and the north end of Mechanic St. in Princeton. Floodwaters into yards of homes along S. Farmer St. and W Water St.
- 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.
- Flooding in South Dakota, March 18 to 26, 20194 events
- Flooding in Wisconsin, March 18 to 29, 20192 events
- Flooding in Iowa, March 18 to 31, 20192 events
- Dense Fog in Montana, March 18, 20191 event
- Waterspout in Gulf of Mexico, March 18, 20191 event
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: 829952.