More on the way?

Thunderstorms with heavy rain stayed south of the area last night, but the flash flood watch continues through this evening due to the threat of more storms moving across the area later this morning and this afternoon. An area of rain and storms is moving northeast across Iowa, and could reach southern Wisconsin by noon. After that, another complex of storms may develop across southern Iowa and move toward Wisconsin again. This is far from certain, as the atmosphere is so muddled right now that it is difficult to tell how any storm complexes will behave with any degree of certainty.

According to the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, southwestern Wisconsin is at a moderate to high risk of receiving excessive rainfall today (the kind that can cause flash flooding). Also, the Storm Prediction Center has most of southern Wisconsin under a moderate risk for severe thunderstorms today, mostly in the form of damaging winds. This area is just barely south and east of Vernon County, but does appear to include Crawford, Grant and Richland counties. The rest of western Wisconsin and adjacent parts of Minnesota and Iowa are still under a slight risk.

The ground is still completely saturated and rivers are running high, so any additional rainfall, even an inch, could quickly lead to more flash flooding. Storms may linger into Friday, but the weekend should be dry, with the next chance of rain then arriving by about next Tuesday.