Flash Flood in Vernon County, Wisconsin

Thunderstorms produced excessive rainfall across southwest Wisconsin during the night of May 31 into the morning hours ofJune 1. Amounts of 3 to 6 inches were common with localized amounts of over 7 inches. In fact, an observer in Victory (Vernon County) recorded 7.25 inches of rain in three hours, breaking the previous three-hour record of 6.29 inches set in Fennimore (Grant County) on August 5, 1951. Numerous roads were closed due to high water and one vehicle was swept away in Muscoda (Grant County) when the driver attempted to cross about one foot of moving water. Property damage estimates totaled around 6 million dollars, with crop damage estimated at 2.4 million dollars. This resulted in Vernon, Crawford, Richland and Grant counties being declared federal disaster areas.