Dodge County gets up to 7 inches of rain

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Friday, June 13, 2008 1:09 PM CDT

Residents of Hubbleton have vehicles parked along state Highway 19 as the river overflowed its bank. The highway has been closed since Tuesday.(DIANE GRAFF/Daily Times)

JUNEAU - Rain, rain and more rain soaked Dodge County Thursday afternoon and evening as storms rolled through the area.

While the southern part of the county was attempting to dry out from weekend torrential rains, the storms on Thursday left up to 7 inches of rain in the Fox Lake and Randolph areas, according to Molly Soblowski, former emergency government director and captain of the Dodge County Sheriff's Department patrol division.

“With the early predictions, we knew up front to anticipate in excess of 5 inches of rain,” Soblowski said from the Emergency Operations Center this morning.

Before Thursday's storms, the towns of Portland and Shields, along with an area around Theresa, were the most severely flooded areas in the county. Following all the storms that went through the area Thursday, the northwest section of the county is now coping with flooding issues. Some residents in Fox Lake were asked to voluntarily evacuate homes, the former emergency government director said.

“The flooding is now in those areas,” Soblowski said. But that water will soon head south to the already flooded areas along the Rock, Crawfish and Maunesha rivers. The rivers and streams are expected to crest sometime Sunday.

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“From Danville to Hubbleton, we just had an incredible amount of rain in the past five days,” Soblowski said.

Along with the heavy rains, the National Weather Service is expected to review information to determine if a tornado touched down east of Mayville. “As of right now, we do not have any confirmation from the weather service if a tornado touched down,” Soblowski said.

There was some damage in the area, but it was very localized, Soblowski said. There were trees down but no structural damage, she added.

Another tornado was spotted northwest of Waupun, just into Fond du Lac County, Soblowski said.

Rainfall was the main problem from storms, Soblowski said. “We had no report of damage from lightning, although lightning was severe,” she added.

No injuries have been attributed to the flood conditions, Soblowski said. “People have been heeding the warnings and are calling for assistance,” she said.

“The biggest problem today is that we still have roads closed,” Soblowski said. “Those that need to be out are having a difficult time maneuvering throughout the county,” she added.

Conditions in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties are quickly changing and routes of detours are hard to determine as water levels continue to change. People are being encouraged to stay home and not travel, and cancel all nonessential movement throughout the county until water levels dissipate. Driving into water is an extreme danger as a car can become submerged and stalled in water. Road shoulders are beginning to wash out, making travel on those roads extremely hazardous.

On Thursday, a 54-year-old woman was stranded in rushing waters on County Highway I in the town of Portland. The woman was about 200 feet into 12 to 18 inches of water with a swift current. The Reeseville Fire Department was called in with a boat to conduct the rescue and the woman was recovered at 8:52 a.m. Her van will remain in the rushing waster until it recedes and can be towed safely.

According to Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls, the road was marked closed with barricades. The woman was cited for operation on a closed road. “I have spoken to the Dodge County Office of Emergency Management and we decided that we will start issuing citations to those whom ignore the signs and drive around the barricades into standing water.”

Highway crews reported to work early today to begin assessing road damage throughout the county.