Severe storms knock out power and close roads in Midwest as flooding cancels last day of Wisconsin State Fair

Some of the highest rainfall totals in the past 24 hours were in the Milwaukee area, where west of the city recorded 8 to 11 inches of rain.

WAUWATOSA, Wisc. — Severe storms struck the Midwest this weekend, dumping around a foot of rain on Milwaukee, causing flooding that canceled the last day of the Wisconsin State Fair, and damaging a Nebraska prison to the extent that inmates had to be moved, officials said.

At least one death occurred in the storms, which struck several states. One person died Saturday and another suffered serious injuries when a tree fell on the car they were in at Two Rivers State Park in Nebraska, officials said.

Some of the highest rainfall totals were in the Milwaukee area, where west of the city recorded 8 to 11 inches of rain.

In the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, Loren Kaiser showed an NBC News crew the damage left behind at his home, where he has lived for 20 years. Kaiser and his family were trying to avoid the floods by leaving town, when floodwaters started rushing in.

“We had the car loaded up and we just decided to try and make a run for it,” he said. “The water just came in and everything in the garage started to float.”

Wisconsin State Fair Park, where the state’s fair is held, was forced to close early on Saturday due to flooding. The state fair announced on Sunday that it will not reopen for the day’s events.

“We understand the disappointment you may feel as our team works all year for these 11 days,” the statement, posted to Facebook, read. “However, the safety of our Fairgoers, team, partners, and vendors will always be our top priority.”

Millions under flood alerts

The storms had around 14 million people from Kansas to Wisconsin are under flood alerts this weekend.

The storms in the Midwest were due to “an environment that features a battleground between cool and dry air to the north and west and plenty of moisture and instability to the south and east,” the National Weather Service said.

A flood watch for Milwaukee was set to last until 7 a.m. Monday, and the weather service said that flash flooding from excessive rainfall continues to be possible.

In the Plains, a “slow-moving, nearly stationary frontal boundary” will create a risk of thunderstorms and heavy downpours, the weather service said Sunday. The states most at risk were Colorado, Kansas, northeastern New Mexico, western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, the agency said.

Videos show strobe lightning illuminate sky in eastern Nebraska
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Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley declared a state of emergency following over 10 inches of rain and widespread flooding.

“There are thousands and thousands of people in Milwaukee that are dealing with the aftermath of the flooding that happened overnight,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at a news conference Sunday.

Johnson said that the flooding, in which some places of the city reported over a foot of rain, was “something that Milwaukee hasn’t seen in perhaps a decade or more.”

The USA Triathlon in Milwaukee announced that the sprint and paratriathlon nationals scheduled to be held on Sunday have been canceled due to “the combination of potential water conditions, flooding and course damage throughout the course, limited emergency response teams to support the event, as well as impending weather for Sunday.”

“We know how much time, training, and anticipation you’ve invested in this event, and we share your disappointment,” USA Triathlon said in a statement. “This was not the outcome any of us wanted. We will follow up soon with more details about next steps, including deferral and credit options.”

Fire departments in Waukesha County, which includes parts of Milwaukee, were conducting rescues of people trapped in floodwaters on Sunday.

The Milwaukee Fire Department has responded to about 614 “emergency assignments” from 8 p.m. Saturday night to 7 a.m. Sunday morning, Chief Aaron Lipski said during a news briefing Sunday afternoon. The incidents include multiple fires and around 65 water rescues.

Lipski reminded the public not to attempt to drive through floodwaters.

“This is how we have hundreds of vehicles around the city blocking intersections, making progress absolutely impossible,” he said.

In West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, Jean Krajewski said her home had flooded once before when the nearby Honey Creek overflowed, but nothing like what happened this weekend. The basement flooded, and the water caused a hole in the cinderblock foundation.

“I had never seen anything like it, because all you could see is the stumps that the house is sitting on in the back,” she said.

The city said the home was uninhabitable for a while. Because the area had flooded once before, she and her husband, who are both retired, have been unable to buy flood insurance, she said.

“So, we’re just going to have to slowly rebuild it,” Krajewski said.

Severe weather hits Nebraska

In Nebraska, severe weather Saturday morning caused extensive roof damage to two housing units at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, the state Department of Correctional Services said. The damage caused 387 inmates housed there to be moved to other facilities like gyms, it said.

Video from the exterior of the prison released by the department showed large sections of the roof and other debris ripped from a building and scattered into an adjacent yard.

As of Sunday evening, over 31,000 utility customers were without power in Wisconsin, according to PowerOutage.us. Almost 13,000 were without power in Nebraska.