Flood — Racine, Wisconsin

2017-07-12 to 2017-07-17 · near Honey Lake, Racine, Wisconsin

Event narrative

The Fox River crested in Burlington at a record level of 16.15 feet on July 13th after 4-8 inches of rain in the Fox River Basin. The city of Burlington is divided in half at this river stage from east to west. Bridges and streets in downtown Burlington are blocked off and closed, including Bridge Street. Floodwaters affect homes on the following streets north of E. Jefferson St. in Burlington: North Spring St., North Main St., East Washington St., North Wisconsin St., and Capital Street. Riverside Park and Veterans Park is flooded. Floodwaters affect a portion of Brever Road 4 miles south of Burlington. Floodwaters also approach highway 83. Various road closures over the southwest half of Racine County continued due to flooding. The power was out for much of Burlington for a few days.

Wider weather episode

Rounds of thunderstorms with torrential rainfall affected southern WI from late evening on July 11th through the morning of July 12th due to a strong surge of warm, moist, and unstable air over a stationary front. Severe flash flooding and river flooding occurred in the Fox River basin over far southeast WI including urban flooding. Up to 8 inches of rain was observed in the basin causing record flooding on portions of the Fox River. This included Burlington and surrounding communities which experienced flash flooding but also long term flooding that had significant impact to some structures and travel.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.7759, -88.3042)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 711987. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.