Heavy rain hits northern Wisconsin, heat wave over

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Another massive rain storm hit northern Wisconsin last evening.

Winter in Sawyer County had five-and-three-quarter inches of rain. Presque Isle in Vilas County had about three-and-a-half inches as of 10 last night, and it was still coming down. The storms carried winds of up to 65-miles-an-hour at Chippewa Falls. The National Weather Service said scattered trees, branches, and power lines fell in parts of Dunn, Trempealeau, Clark, Lincoln, and Vilas counties.

The Wisconsin Public Service utility said almost 570 electric customers were still without power around 5:30 this morning – mostly in the Minocqua and Tomahawk areas. The storms hit about 12 hours after the Duluth-Superior region was deluged with up to 10-inches of rain. Officials in Superior said many streets were either flooded or washed out. Parts of Douglas County had around six-inches of rain by early yesterday.

There’s a slight chance of more storms in the north today – and forecasters say rain-storms in southeast Wisconsin will move out this morning.

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Parts of far northwest Wisconsin are under flood warnings for at least the next day-or-two, in the wake of massive downpours in the region. The National Weather Service says Superior and other parts of northwest Douglas County are under a flood warning until eight tomorrow morning. And west central Burnett County is under a similar warning until eight o’clock Saturday morning. The Weather Service says flood waters are moving down the Saint Louis River north of Duluth-Superior. The river is at record level at Scanlon, Minnesota, and officials say it has not crested yet. In Burnett County, the concern comes from the Kettle River basin in two counties in neighboring Minnesota – Pine and Carlton. House flooding has been reported on the Minnesota side.

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The heat wave is over in most of Wisconsin – and for the first time this week, the mercury is not supposed to hit 90 anywhere in the state. A cold front is moving out of Wisconsin this morning. And as it moves east, some lingering showers will disappear in the far north and the southeast. Drier-and-less humid air is expected to move in sometime this afternoon. Highs are only expected to be in the mid-70’s to low-80’s statewide. The mercury hit 95 in parts of southern Wisconsin late yesterday afternoon, and the heat caused buckling on some major highways in the region during the week. Milwaukee set a record the warmest overnight low for yesterday, as it only got down to 77 degrees. There’s a slight chance of showers returning to parts of the state tomorrow – and another weak front could bring rain to southeast Wisconsin on Saturday.

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