Live updates: Intense tornadoes, large hail threaten 132 million from Midwest to Northeast today
Developing Story
Historic flooding looms as document snowmelt and heavy rain hammer Great Lakes
A harmful mixture of record-breaking snowpack and relentless rain has pushed the Great Lakes area right into a high-stakes flooding emergency.
The FOX Forecast Center warns that as heavy rain falls on frozen floor and quickly melting snow, native rivers throughout Wisconsin and Michigan are anticipated to emerge into main flood stage, with a number of places forecast to shatter all-time document crests via Wednesday.
The atmospheric setup is fueled by a moisture pump off the Southeast coast that’s funneling an limitless stream of Gulf moisture straight into the Upper Midwest. This has created an ideal storm for flooding, significantly in cities like Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, and Traverse City.
In Marquette, the place a historic 273 inches of snow has fallen this season, the sudden transition to hotter temperatures is aggressively melting the snowpack. When mixed with forecasted rain of two to 3 inches, the ensuing runoff has nowhere to go however into already swollen waterways.
The influence on regional rivers is anticipated to be historic:
- Menominee River: Forecast to peak at 16.5 ft at Niagara and 20 ft close to McAllister, each of which might surpass earlier all-time data.
- Manistee River: Expected to crest at 17.8 ft close to Sherman, Michigan, nicely above its 16.9-foot document.
Flood Watches stay in impact throughout northern Michigan via Wednesday morning. However, the hazard possible will not finish then; With excessive soil saturation ranges throughout the Plains and one other spherical of rain anticipated later this week, officers warn that flash flooding dangers could possibly be extended nicely into the weekend.
Residents in these flood-prone areas ought to monitor river gauges carefully and by no means try to drive via flooded roadways.
