Spring flooding from heavy rain, snowmelt drive infrastructure failures, evacuations across three states

Rounds of heavy rainfall and accelerated snowmelt triggered road washouts, dam stress and evacuations across Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois this week as rivers swelled and overwhelmed drainage infrastructure.

The Michigan State Police said in an April 14 press release that the State Emergency Operations Center had been activated to coordinate response efforts, with dam safety engineers from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy visiting dam sites across the state. Buck's Pond Dam in Alcona County failed overnight on April 13, the release said, with water flowing into Hubbard Lake. A levee breach in the Little Black River Watershed in Cheboygan County prompted evacuations, with Michigan State Police troopers assisting the Cheboygan County Sheriff's Office. 

Mich. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Cheboygan County on April 10, citing rising water levels at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex. "Significant snowfall and recent rain have raised water levels, which could lead to possible flooding for areas downstream of the dam," Whitmer said in the declaration. "Water levels are below the crest of the dam, but conditions could change quickly with more rain coming." 

In the Upper Peninsula, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Menominee River affecting both Michigan and Wisconsin, with the river near Niagara forecast to crest at 15.2 feet by Thursday, according to alerts reported by WBAY.

Menominee County declared a local state of emergency Tuesday, with the Menominee County Board of Commissioners citing widespread and severe damage to public infrastructure caused by flooding, WLUC reported. Many roads and bridges were destroyed and many homes and businesses had flooded. The National Weather Service forecast the Menominee River to crest at 20 feet. County officials warned that dams on the Menominee River would likely need to open additional gates to manage water flow, which could cause water levels to rise rapidly in a short period of time, and urged residents to stay away from fast-moving water.

MDOT communications representative Dan Weingarten told the Iron Mountain Daily News that both directions of U.S. 2 in Powers were closed due to water over the roadway, with a detour on local streets. Weingarten also said alternating lanes of traffic were operating under flag control on U.S. 41 at U.S. 2 near Rapid River due to water on the road. 

Delta County Airport Manager Ashleigh Young told the Iron Mountain Daily News that runways were closed to air traffic after an "unprecedented combination of rapid snowmelt" and heavy rainfall overwhelmed the airport's drainage system. "While our drainage system is designed to handle standard precipitation, the sheer volume of runoff from the record-breaking snowfall has exceeded the system's capacity," Young said. 

In Wisconsin, the National Weather Service in Green Bay issued a flash flood warning April 14 citing the imminent failure of Big Falls Dam on the Little Wolf River in Waupaca County. "Life threatening flash flooding" downstream was cited as the hazard, according to the NWS alert published by GovOneStop. Waupaca County Emergency Management told WBAY that water levels at the dam were going down before the warning was issued, and that water was moving around the embankment rather than through a breach. The dam did not fail.

The NWS Green Bay also issued a flood watch through Wednesday morning for portions of Wisconsin, including Brown, Door, Kewaunee and Outagamie counties, adding that 3 to 5 inches of rain had already fallen across parts of the region with additional accumulation expected, according to the NWS alert. 

Northeast Wisconsin saw about 2 to 4 inches of rain, resulting in washed-out roads, vehicle rescues and school closures, FOX 11 reported. Highway 32/57 in De Pere and Wisconsin 147 near Mishicot were among the roads closed due to flooding, according to WBAY.

In Illinois, the National Weather Service in Chicago issued a flash flood warning overnight for Cook and DuPage counties through 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, citing rain rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour moving through already-saturated ground. A flood watch covered much of the Chicago area through 6 a.m. Wednesday, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, according to NWS.

O'Hare International Airport recorded 2.21 inches of rain between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. Tuesday night, CNN reported. A ground stop was in place until about 11:45 p.m. and 62 flights were canceled as of about 11 p.m., ABC7 Chicago reported.