June 21-28, 2013 Historical Heavy Rain and Flooding for Southern Wisconsin

Quick Facts

Basic Overview

During the period of June 21-28, 2013, parts of Wisconsin experienced historic 24-hr, 48-hr, 72-hr, and 7-day rainfall amounts which had a statistical frequency of about once every 100 to 500 years. This resulted in river flooding, mud-slides, damaged buildings and closed roads.  Some river gauge sites experienced major flooding levels and record crests.

Although the heaviest rains and flooding in the June 21-28 wet period weren’t as widespread as the major to record June, 2008 flooding in southern Wisconsin, on a local basis the impact was just as profound.  Most of the rain fell during the period of June 21-27th.

Four regions of the state experienced the greatest rain totals in June, 2013: Douglas County to Ashland County, Crawford County to northwestern Iowa County, the Dane-Green-Rock-western Walworth County area and the northeast Marathon-Northern Shawano-Menominee County area .  Unfortunately, the urbanization and drainage situation in the southern part of Madison amplified the effects of flooding.

Whereas a number of counties had some road or public infrastructure damage, the hardest-hit counties were Ashland, Crawford, Dane, Grant, Iowa, Richland, Sauk, St. Croix, and Vernon.

Rainfall Amounts & Weather Set-up

Total rainfall amounts for the June 21-27^th period in the worst-hit area ranged from 8 to over 13 inches. This is over 600% above normal for the week. Some extreme weekly totals include 13.93 inches in Prairie du Chien, 13.09 inches in Boscobel (Grant Co.), 13 inches southeast of Steuben (Crawford Co.), 12.33 inches near Dayton (Green Co.), an estimated 12 inches in Clinton (Rock Co.), and 11.94 inches at the Lynxville Dam on the Mississippi River.

Some 24-hr extremes were 7.79 inches in Boscobel (Grant Co.) ending on the 22^nd, 6.54 inches in Gordon (Douglas Co.) ending at 7 am on the 21^st, 6.36 inches in Dodgeville (Iowa Co.) ending at 7 am on the 22^nd, and 6.08 inches in New Glarus (Green Co.) ending at 7 am on the 22^nd.

Hourly rainfall rates with some of the strongest storms reached 1 to 2 inches per hour which led to localized flash flooding. The hilly terrain from northwestern to southwestern and south-central Wisconsin amplified the quick run-off and river levels jumped dramatically.

Locally heavy rainfalls of 2 to 3 inches on June 27^th and 28^th in the Marathon/Shawano/Menominee County area led to flood damage on the Stockbridge Munsee Tribal Reservation on June 28th.  Some buildings were damaged.

The basic weather set-up for the June, 2013 heavy rains and flooding was very similar to the June, 2008 situation.  A stationary frontal boundary stretched from northern Iowa through northern Illinois during the period, separating very warm and humid air from somewhat cooler and drier air to the north.  A low-level jet pushed warm, moist air northeast over the frontal boundary which resulted in thunderstorms.  There were several rounds of thunderstorm activity persisting for 3 to 9 hours that occurred mostly at night over a stretch of a week.  Each round resulted in 3 to 6 inches of rain affecting some part of northwestern through southwestern and south-central Wisconsin within a 24-hr period.

Below on the left is a graphic of 7-Day total rainfall from June 21th through June 27th.  On the right is the precipitation departure in percentage for the 7-Day period.  Click on the images for a larger version. 

Below on the left is a 30-day rainfall total graphic for all of Wisconsin for the period of 11 am June 1st through 11 am CDT July 1st.  This graphic doesn't capture just the rain that fell within the month of June, 2013, but it's very close.  The graphic on the right shows a zoomed in view of southern Wisconsin for the same time period.  Click on the images for a larger version.

River Response

Yahara River at Fulton set a new all-time crest on June 26^th in the major flooding category at 12.06 feet, breaking the old record of 11.16 feet set on July 18, 1996.  In contrast, the river at this gauge site dropped to 3.63 feet on July 16, 2012 - its 3rd lowest reading on record.

Turtle Creek near Clinton notched its 2^nd highest crest (high-end moderate category) on record on June 26^th at 11.76 feet.  The highest crest was 12.85 feet back on April 21, 1973.

Turtle Creek in Beloit came within a fraction of an inch of the major flood category when it crested at 13.95 feet on June 27th.  This is the highest crest observed in Beloit, but our river data goes back only a few years.  In contrast, the river at this site dropped to 4.91 feet on June 26, 2012, but we don't know if this is the lowest reading.

Resource for above three sites:  Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service

Kickapoo River at Steuben in Crawford experienced moderate flooding after a rise of roughly  5.5 feet, going from about 7.5 feet to over 13 feet.  Moderate flooding at this location starts at 13 feet.

Putting Madison's Rainfall Into Perspective 

At the end of the June 21-27, 2013 period Madison had experienced its wettest year on record to date: 30.58 inches, or 14.81 inches above normal. Similar conditions existed at other locations in southwest and south-central Wisconsin.  Madison's normal annual precipitation is 34.48 inches, and that's for 12 months!  Click here for a map of the normal annual precipitation over all of Wisconsin.

Pictures of Flooding in Dane County

Pictures of Flooding in Green County

Pictures of Flooding in Rock County

Related Material/Resources

Early June Flooding & Heavy Rain in 2008

NOAA Atlas 14-point Precipitation Frequency Estimates: WI