Parts of the Fox Valley experienced serious overnight flooding. “We have quite a bit of water, we’re pretty saturated here,” said Winnebago County emergency management director Linda Kohlman in Oshkosh. “We’ll take as long a break as we can get.”
Storms dropped as much as 4 inches of rain on parts of the Fox Valley, forcing closure of portions of Highways 41 and 21. “Highway 41 at one time, both northbound and southbound lanes closed, which caused a lot of issues,” said Kohlman. “Highway 21 in Omro was also closed.” In addition, there was street flooding in the city of Oshkosh, and water in the basements of some homes.
Calumet County emergency management director Matthew Marmor said the situation is similar there, with roads overtopped by water and basements flooded. The Village of Hilbert was particularly hard hit. “The flooding there was some of the more intense in the county, and lasted longer than in the other communities,” said Marmor, who estimated that the water depth in the village could have been “measured in feet.”
Further north, in Manitowoc County, the Village of Rockwood also had some serious flooding. Floodwater pushed debris, firewood and landscaping timbers down County Highway R. Fire Chief Dave Hardrath said debris plugged culverts, leaving water up to a foot deep on the highway. Although his department blocked the highway at each end of the village, one motorist who attempted to drive through became trapped. “He couldn’t get out because the water was so high, so we drove a fire truck in and he hopped on the running board,” Hardrath said.
Rick Schuh, WHBY/Damon Ryan, WOMT
