Storms sweeping through the heart of the United States continued to threaten rain and pose a risk of flooding Thursday after causing at least one death when a man was apparently struck by lightning in Wisconsin.
Police in Waukesha West MilwaukeeHe said that “the area was experiencing heavy rain accompanied by significant thunder and lightning” when someone reported seeing the man on the ground on Wednesday evening.
“Preliminary information indicates that the person was struck by lightning while walking in the parking lot during the storm,” police said.
The weather pattern combining very humid air and a strong jet stream extends from as far south as central Texas into the Midwest and east across the Great Lakes. From Monday through Wednesday, the National Weather Service received more than 1,100 reports of large hail, winds greater than 60 mph (96 kph) and tornadoes as part of a storm system, said Bill Bunting, a meteorologist at the NWS Storm Prediction Center.
Crews went out Thursday to survey damage to determine the exact number of tornadoes, Bunting said.
Storms have Rolled out in a number of states For the better part of this week and could continue into the start of the weekend.
“There’s been a tremendous amount of lightning with these storms over the last few days,” said Mark Gehring, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Milwaukee.
“We experienced summer temperatures and humidity that lasted for a whole week – in the middle of April,” he added. “In addition to the very stormy pattern, we had heavy rain almost every day. We had tornadoes almost every day, and very large hailstones.”
Five tornadoes have been confirmed across southern and parts of central Wisconsin, according to Gehring.
“But there’s more. We’ll be out doing storm surveys,” he said Thursday, adding that storms expected Friday evening could be severe.
In addition to lightning, hail and tornadoes, the storms brought heavy rain, with dozens of flood warnings and flood watches issued by the weather service in multiple states.
Crews were in a hurry Water pumping From a dam in Cheboygan, Michigan, this week, even removing flood gates to relieve pressure. Residents and businesses in the city were asked on Monday to prepare a “go bag” containing medicines, documents and other important items, monitor official updates and “prepare to act” due to the risk of flooding.
In northern Michigan, the city of Bellaire, population 1,000, said Thursday that its wastewater treatment system was overwhelmed, releasing partially treated waste into area swamps. The village urged residents to reduce water use in their homes.
Carl Johnson, 59, owns a home on the rapidly rising Muskegon River in western Michigan. He took to Facebook to tell people his boats are ready if someone needs help.
“Banks are running out everywhere. It’s really bad,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s not supposed to peak until Saturday.”
People living in the river’s flood plain below Croton Dam in Newaygo County have been ordered to evacuate. It was not immediately known how many people were affected.
The Wisconsin River is in major flood phase in Portage, Wisconsin, and is expected to reach or exceed the record 20.7 feet (6.3 meters) sometime Friday morning, meteorologist Gehring said.
“Right now, it’s 19.9 feet (6 metres) high, not that far,” he said. “In Portage, there is a large area of low-lying flooding. Many roads are flooded. There is a levee there. It is important that the levee holds up.”
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency earlier this week.
Cars were stranded Wednesday night in high floodwaters on a highway in Milwaukee and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office posted online urging people not to drive in southeastern Wisconsin.
But at least in Wisconsin, a break may be near.
“We have another heavy rain coming this way before we get a good break,” Gehring said. “That will be Friday evening. That will be the last moments of the heavy rain.”
The storm system will continue to move north and east and will likely take three to four days to finally move off the U.S. East Coast, Bunting said.
“Probably the most concerning day in terms of potential for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes is Friday, extending from northern Oklahoma into central Wisconsin and far eastern Illinois,” he said.
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Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan. White reported from Detroit.