Flooding, storms hit Wisconsin, Nebraska
MILWAUKEE — Flash flooding canceled the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair on Sunday as continued heavy rainfall in half a dozen Midwest states led to water rescues, power outages and road closures.
Organizers of the Wisconsin State Fair said they were canceling the final day of the 11-day event after rains flooded the fairgrounds in West Allis, which is just outside Milwaukee.
“We are saddened we cannot deliver this final day of the Wisconsin State Fair, but know that this is the best decision with current conditions and the forecast ahead,” organizers said in a statement.
The National Weather Service issued flood watches and warnings for parts of Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin. After rainfall began on Saturday in some areas forecasters predicted “repeated rounds of heavy rain,” along with hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes on Sunday.
Among the worst hit was the Milwaukee area, whereas many as 10 inches of rain had fallen in some areas by early Sunday. Nearly 47,000 customers of We Energies lost power in southeast Wisconsin. USA Triathlon also canceled its Sprint and Paratriathlon National Championships in Milwaukee, where thousands of athletes were expected to participate.
Firefighters responded to over 600 calls including for gas leaks, electrical outages and water rescues, according to the Milwaukee Fire Department. Meanwhile, city crews worked overnight to clear surface water.
“Please continue to avoid flooded areas and do not walk or drive through standing water,” the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works pleaded in a statement. “It remains dangerous.”
Strong storms before dawn Saturday in eastern Nebraska killed one person and seriously injured another in a state park and displaced hundreds of inmates after two prison housing units were damaged, officials said, even as other Midwest states also braced for bad weather.
The Waterloo Volunteer Fire Department was called to Two Rivers state park just before 7 a.m. Saturday, where first responders found a vehicle crushed by a large cottonwood tree. The tree had toppled as the storm brought gusts higher than 80 mph to the area, according to the National Weather Service. A woman in the vehicle was declared dead at the scene, while a man was trapped inside, the fire department said in a news release.
It took firefighters about 90 minutes to free the man because of the size and weight of the tree, the department said. Once free, the man was taken to an Omaha hospital with life-threatening injuries, Waterloo Fire Chief Travis Harlow said.
The state park — a popular camping spot — is about 5 miles west of Omaha's western border.
High winds caused widespread damage across eastern Nebraska, toppling trees, damaging roofs and pulling down electrical lines. About 20 miles north of Omaha in Blair, the roof of a warehouse was torn open by high winds. Thousands of people were left without power in the immediate aftermath.
In the state capital of Lincoln, the storms damaged two housing units at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, displacing 387 prisoners, the state Department of Correctional Services said in a statement.
“There are no reported injuries, and all staff and incarcerated individuals are safe and accounted for,” the agency said.
Strong storms also moved through parts of eastern Wisconsin on Saturday, bringing gusts of 60 mph to the state's Door Peninsula, the National Weather Service said.
The weather service said more strong storms were possible across the nation's midsection Saturday night into Sunday, stretching from western Colorado into Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, northern Missouri and into Illinois and Wisconsin.
