Flooding?? (Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse: apartments, home, buy)

[smokeydog]

Hey everyone, as you know we are debating a move to Madison. Our biggest concern was adjustment to winter weather. However, now I'm seeing you are having record floods. How bad is it and should we be concerned. We had targeted a new apartment on Junction road in Middleton with underground parking. They said the complex was fine but nearby people were being air lifted to safety. Your thoughts please?

[Vegabern]

It's not a common occurrence. WI and Madison in particular has seen a lot of rain over the past few days and more is expected.

"For the meteorological summer of June through August, Madison has received 18.09 inches of rain, 5.76 inches above normal.

Since Jan. 1, Madison has received 34.93 inches of precipitation (rain and melted snow), 10.77 inches above normal."

[ranger17]

The flooding has been due to an all time state record rain a week ago, up to 15” in spots just west of the city. That will flood about any place. And with potential heavy rain tomorrow some locations may still be in trouble.
One has to remember that a selling point of the downtown area being between 2 lakes can have a negative effect in high water periods.
But in decades here I dont ever recall anything like what happened recently. High water affecting the lakes, sure. But not the property damage we have seen.
OP guess i would suggest following one of the local news sites to get up to date activity and details over the next couple weeks. And remember this is not a normal occurance.

[Vegabern]

Originally Posted by ranger17

The flooding has been due to an all time state record rain a week ago, up to 15” in spots just west of the city. That will flood about any place. And with potential heavy rain tomorrow some locations may still be in trouble.
One has to remember that a selling point of the downtown area being between 2 lakes can have a negative effect in high water periods.
But in decades here I dont ever recall anything like what happened recently. High water affecting the lakes, sure. But not the property damage we have seen.
OP guess i would suggest following one of the local news sites to get up to date activity and details over the next couple weeks. And remember this is not a normal occurance.

Did you guys get the storms again this morning? We've had a lot or rain in Milwaukee but I don't think we've had near as much as over in Madison.

[Ragnar]

OP, I wouldn't worry about it too much. As previous posters have pointed out, there has been above average / record rainfall in the Madison area this year. Basically anywhere near a drainage pond/ditch overflowed and the water collection systems couldn't keep up. The Madison lakes are pretty full and it hasn't been a fun boating summer overall. The water level in Lake Mendota is what's causing the downtown flooding right now. The city needs to move the water through the Yahara River dam to Lake Monona in regular intervals to keep the dam from being compromised, which would be much worse. The city drainage systems in the low lying isthmus areas near Tenney Park just cannot keep up with the extra water.

Old Sauk Road near the beltline highway and High Point Road was the big problem area near that potential apartment you are considering, and new apartments on Junction Road are just a bit uphill from there, so you would likely be fine in another significant rain event. Most people who got into trouble in Madison were trying to drive home through problem areas with rising water.

Always buy high!

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by Vegabern

Did you guys get the storms again this morning? We've had a lot or rain in Milwaukee but I don't think we've had near as much as over in Madison.

We got hardly any rain last night in far West side / Verona, but we did get a big lightening pop near us around 3 am that knocked the power out for over an hour.

[ranger17]

There was some heavy rain overnight in the Deforest/Windsor area but much worse north of Dane county. Those counties got hammered last night and there are areas getting hit again now with strong storms and tornado warnings.

I suspect Madison proper will see it soon enough.

[GraniteStater]

La Crosse had a flood emergency this morning due to large amounts of rain. Parts of Juneau and Adams counties received 8-10 inches of rainfall over the last two days as well. The weather pattern is about as extreme as it can get with regard to high precipitable water values due to very elevated dewpoints- lots of low level moisture available. End of the week appears drier for now.

[ranger17]

Surprisingly it seems Madison dodged a major bullet last night. If we would have rec’d the rain and damage the counties to the north did, i couldnt imagine getting around town. Just a bit north there are roads washed out, part of the interstate still closed etc

Now hopefully all that rain to the north doesnt all work its way into the watersheds that feed the Madison chain of lakes. Esp with Labor day and Taste of Madison this weekend. Having 250k people try to get around water and detours could be tough.

[smokeydog]

Thanks to everyone that has answered our questions about the flooding and earlier the question regarding relocating form San Luis Obispo, CA to Madison. After weighing all the facts we have accepted the position in Madison and will call it home in mid September. Ultimately it was our decision but it was nice to hear others express their ideas and opinions. Hopefully folks in Madison will be equally kind in person as they have been online.