rain

After a day of record-setting rain Saturday, another rainfall record was set Sunday, with 2.25 inches recorded in Milwaukee. That compares to the old record of 1.24 set in 1974.

The two day total for Milwaukee: 7.28 inches.

That's the official amount, though totals vary widely through the area. I'm sure we got much less in Grafton.

So far this month: 9.12 inches of rain. That makes this already the third-wettest June ever, and it's only the ninth.

that lake is gone

Mikhail alerted me to this one.

Wisconsin Dells is a tourist town in south-central Wisconsin. If you're from the midwest, you've probably been there. Near the Wisconsin River, there's a lake. A lot of rich people have homes there, and there's a water ski show that happens every night. Oh, a "Ski, Sky and Stage" show. That's pretty much the attraction that founded the town. Anyway...

Lake Delton is a man-made lake. I didn't realize that, or had forgotten. The dam is about 1000 yards from the lake. The lake was really high because of the heavy rains we had over the weekend. Officials sandbagged the dam, but the water rose so high it crossed a nearby road, and then started running down the hill. It dug a channel, and as the flow picked up, cut through the road, and eventually, the entire lake emptied through the new canyon.

You can see video of houses being swept down the newly created river.

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/19663084.html
They're in the little video window in the middle of the page. The "Home Swept Down River" video is the short one. The "Live Cut-in" is the longest one.

Fortunately, there are no reports of injuries, but several business make their livelihoods on the lake.

flooding

In my immediate vicinity, it's just hilly enough that there's not a whole lot of flooding. Some of the water that falls in our neighborhoods goes to our basements, but most of it makes its way to the rivers. So they're extremely high. I'm not sure I've ever seen them this high.

On friday evening, Cyn and I were standing on the balcony overlooking this river. We just had some rain, so there were some big puddles on the riverwalk below us. I told my friend that in the spring when the snow melted, it was underwater. He was like, "no way!" Guess what? It's under water again.


See how that water is just kinda rolling over the dam? In the summer, it falls off the top of the dam in showers.

( Read more... )

more flooding

Here's a picture from Lake Delton, just as the back half of a house breaks off and falls into the water.
picture

And check out this guy. The wave is over the hood of his car. And what's causing that wave, anyway?
pic

amazing cloud

One more weather picture. I didn't see this one go over, but I was under it, on the way home yesterday. All I saw was dark cloud overhead, with light sky beyond the edge of an overhang. I'm not sure what I'd have done if I'd seen it from the outside. I might have changed my mind and stayed where I was.

picture

Click "next", for one more view of it. You can see how dark it was underneath it. Or go to the gallery to find more.

Like this one.