Flood in La Crosse, Wisconsin

Heavy rains, combined with snow melt runoff, caused the Mississippi River to reach near record levels. In fact, at most locations the water reached levels second only to the all-time flood of record, which occurred in April 1965. The Mississippi River at La Crosse (La Crosse County) crested at 16.4 feet on April 18, which was the third all-time highest flood on record. Hardest hit was the Prairie du Chien area (Crawford County) and points southward, where flood waters did considerable damage to businesses and homes. Overall damage due to the high water was estimated around 6 million dollars. This resulted in Buffalo, Trempealeau, La Crosse, Vernon, Crawford and Grant County being eligible for state disaster relief funds. Water levels began dropping during the latter part of the month, but remained above flood stage through early May.