Beth McConnell
sugar river flood
Today's image is titled sugar river flood and was photographed by Beth McConnell.
This photo shows an overflowing Sugar River just to the south of Verona just off State Highway 69, shot by McConnell on Thursday, August 23, just one day after the latest bout of storms that drenched the region. "Southwestern Wisconsin has been pounded with rain for a week," she notes in a caption to a photo set showing flooding yesterday in southern Dane County as well as on the south side of Madison. "'Two inches within 30 minutes' kind of rain. That stuff," she continues. "We're running out of places to drain it."
More rain is forecast for today, with a Flash Flood Watch for the county in effect through Saturday morning. August 2007 is has now made the record books as the wettest month ever in recorded meteorological history in Madison, as detailed in a report from the National Weather Service. As of 12:00 a.m. of this morning, Truax Field has received 14.04 inches of rain, dousing the monthly record of 10.93 inches set back in July, 1950. "Obviously," the notice concludes, "the total for the month will likely go higher and a final record report will be issued on September 1, 2007." Most of this rain fell over a period between August 18-23, the levels and distributions detailed in another report from the weather service.
These weather conditions are resulting in significant troubles for the region. In addition to the electrocution tragedy in Madison on Wednesday, the storms are leading to significant flooding around the county. Dane County is urging property owners to report damages. As urged in a press release issued Thursday afternoon:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be in Wisconsin early next week to conduct a Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) of counties affected by this past week's storms. Damage information submitted from Wisconsin counties to Wisconsin Emergency Management will then be verified through the preliminary assessment...
In response to the recent flooding and potential for more rain, Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney is utilizing jail inmates with work release privileges to assist in sandbagging efforts in Monona and Middleton. "The inmates are working under the supervision of Dane County Deputies," Mahoney said. "There are currently 10 inmates working on sandbagging."
Regarding county roads, County Trunk Highway Y, between State Highway 78 and Mazomanie will remain closed through the weekend with traffic rerouted to State Highway 78 and U.S. Highway 14. Pam Dunphy of the Dane County Public Works, Highway and Transportation Department, said the bridge remains in place but the road has washed out around the structure. "We anticipate temporary repairs can be made early next week, but our engineers are still planning the temporary and permanent repairs," she said.
County residents affected by the floods are urged to photograph the damage, remove water from their basements, and discard any porous materials that can harbor mold. More information about sandbagging distribution is available from the United Way of Dane County.
This is the latest entry of Madison Snaps: photos of Madison-area events and locations. The Isthmus group photo pool is the primary source for Madison Snaps, which are published here with the permission of individual contributors. If you are interested in having your photo eligible for Madison Snaps, please respond to the posting on the Flickr group page, or send a message. There is no compensation for Madison Snaps photos, which are © to the respective photographers.
