Flash Flood — Sheboygan, Wisconsin

1998-08-06 · near Sheboygan, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Wider weather episode

A devastating, record flash flood hit the area from Sheboygan Falls to the city of Sheboygan during the early morning hours, with Sheboygan having the worst of the flooding. An incredible 10.75 inches of rain fell at the Sheboygan Press building, and unofficial reports indicate that around 12 inches may have fallen in parts of the city. The rain started about 0100CST, and continued until about 0800CST as a series of thunderstorms, moving slowly northeast at 10 mph, trained through the same areas. Rainfall amounts diminished going west through the county... 5 inches fell in Plymouth. A "state of emergency" was declared by the Governor. At least 3 bridges in Sheboygan were severely damaged and immediately closed to traffic. Several other roads had chunks of pavement torn loose, or curbs washed away. The monetary damage to the road and bridge infrastructure amounted to almost 6 million dollars! About 400 residential homes sustained minor damage, about 500 suffered major damage, and 6 were destroyed. Consequently, over 500 of these structures were left uninhabitable due to collapsed basement walls, shifting of foundations, etc. One elderly man was trapped in his home, but was rescued at the last second as his entire home disintegrated. Six businesses sustained minor damage, and 4 suffered major damage. Several downtown buildings had walls crumble due to the force of flood waters. Some city hillsides also collapsed. One man lost two vehicles, a camper, and basement and 1st floor personal property to the raging water currents. The City School District suffered substantial damage ($1.2 million), especially to North High School. The Red Cross set up shelter for those who needed it, but also lost some of its emergency supplies due to a flooded basement. Two large apartment complexes had to have most of their residents evacuated due to water depths of 4 to 7 feet in the 1st floor rooms! One women was rescued while floating on a mattress in water only 1 foot from the ceiling. Only minor crop damage was reported. Many area and city roads were closed, and in some spots the water depth reached 5 to 6 feet! County Highway EE south of State 28 washed out, while I-43 west of the city of Sheboygan was reduced to one lane travel both ways. State 23 was closed at I-43 for a couple hours. Area golf courses were hit hard with many soil/tree washouts reported. Many creeks throughout the eastern part of the county were described as "raging currents." Fisherman Creek in the city of Sheboygan was responsible for 1 bridge washout. The cities infrastructure suffered about $2.5 million in damage. The Sheboygan River in Sheboygan set a new record crest of 12.02 feet at 1700CST (6pm), or 4.02 feet above flood stage. It remained above flood stage at this location from 0745CST on August 6th through 1400CST on the 7th. The max discharge was 7820 cfs, or between a 25 and 50 year flood. Some quotes from newspapers: "The Great Flood of 1998", "It Just Never Stopped", "And the Rains Came", "Sheboygan Submerged", "We Were so Scared We Didn't Know What to do", "The Deluge of 98", and "Sheboygan Under Siege". The synoptic reasons for this flooding can be found in the August 4th entry for flash flooding in Columbia Co. Eastern Washington and Ozaukee Co. were persistent atmospheric breeding areas for all the thunderstorms that affected Sheboygan Co.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5664609. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.