Rivers in central and eastern Wisconsin are at or near flood stages thanks to this month’s late spring blizzard.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Tasos Kallas says the surprise wintery blizzard earlier this month is to blame for the suddenly rising flood waters. “It had nowhere to go. Some of the ground is still frozen, so it went into the rivers, streams and creeks of northeast Wisconsin.”
Kallas says their primary area of concern right now is the Wolf River near Shiocton. “It’s going to stay above flood stage for at least the rest of this week, but it should begin a slow drop next week, assuming we don’t get any heavy rainfall that could really mess this up.” He says rain is in the forecast for later this week.
People planning to use the Wisconsin River in Marathon and Portage counties over the next week or so should also be very careful. “The dam operators upstream have been releasing a lot of water, so you might get into a high flow situation that may catch people by surprise.” Kallas says fast, cold water is heading down the Wisconsin River and that boaters should have their personal flotation devices, and keep away from any dams.