WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN — A severe storm system stretching from central Texas into the Great Lakes prompted flood warnings, tornado surveys and evacuations across the central United States on Thursday. A man died after being struck by lightning while walking through a parking lot in Waukesha, Wisconsin, during a storm on Wednesday evening, police said.
From Monday through Wednesday, the National Weather Service received more than 1,100 reports of large hail, winds above 60 mph (96 kph), and tornadoes tied to the system, and teams surveyed damage on Thursday to determine the number of tornadoes. The weather pattern combined very moist air with a strong jet stream, stretching from as far south as central Texas into the Midwest and east across the Great Lakes.
Five tornadoes have been confirmed across southern and parts of central Wisconsin, meteorologist Mark Gehring said. "But there are more out there. We are going out to do storm surveys."
"There's been a tremendous amount of lightning with these storms over the last few days," he said. "We've had the temperature and humidity of summer and it's lasting an entire week — in mid-April. In addition to a very stormy pattern, nearly every day we're having heavy rain."
The Wisconsin River is at major flood stage in Portage, Wisconsin, and is forecast to reach or surpass the 20.7-foot (6.3-meter) record Friday morning. "Right now, it's at 19.9 feet (6 meters), not that far off," Gehring said. "In Portage, there's a large area of low-land flooding. Many roads are flooded. There's a levee there."
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency earlier in the week. Cars were stranded on a highway in Milwaukee on Wednesday night due to high floodwater, and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office posted online urging people not to drive in southeast Wisconsin.
In Michigan, crews pumped water from a dam in Cheboygan and removed floodgates to relieve pressure. Residents and businesses there were told on Monday to prepare a go bag with medications, documents, and other important items, monitor official updates, and be ready to act. People living in the flood plain below the Croton Dam in Newaygo County were ordered to evacuate.
Bellaire, Michigan, population 1,000, said Thursday that its wastewater treatment system was being overwhelmed, forcing the release of partially treated waste into area swamps. The village urged residents to reduce home water use.
Carl Johnson, 59, who owns a home on the rapidly rising Muskegon River in western Michigan, posted on Facebook that his boats are ready to help anyone in need. "It's out of the banks everywhere. It's really bad," Johnson said. "It's not supposed to crest until Saturday."
The storm system will continue to move north and east and likely will take three to four days to move off the U.S. east coast, meteorologist Bill Bunting said. "Probably, the most concerning day in terms of intense thunderstorm potential and tornadoes is Friday, extending from northern Oklahoma into central Wisconsin and far eastern Illinois," he said.