Severe storms continue to produce heavy rain, lightning and flooding across parts of US

Storms across the US heartland continued to threaten rain and flood risks on Thursday after causing at least one death when a man was apparently struck by lightning in Wisconsin.

Police in Waukesha, west of Milwaukee, said “the area was experiencing heavy rain accompanied by significant thunder and lightning” when someone reported seeing the man on the ground Wednesday evening.

“Preliminary information indicates the individual was struck by lightning while walking through the parking lot during the storm,” police said.

A weather pattern combining very humid air and a strong jet stream extends from south through central Texas into the Midwest and east across the Great Lakes. From Monday to Wednesday, the National Weather Service received more than 1,100 reports of large hail, winds above 60 mph and tornadoes as part of the storm system, said Bill Bunting, a meteorologist at the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center.

Crews were on site Thursday surveying the damage to determine the exact number of tornadoes, Bunting said.

Storms have buffeted a number of states for most of this week and could continue into the early weekend.

“There’s been an awful lot of lightning and storms the last few days,” said Mark Gehring, a meteorologist with the Milwaukee Weather Service.

“We had summer temperature and humidity and it lasted for a whole week, in mid-April,” he added. “In addition to a very stormy pattern, we have heavy rain almost every day. We have had tornadoes almost every day, very large hail.”

Five tornadoes were confirmed in southern and parts of central Wisconsin, according to Gehring.

“But there are others. We are going to do storm surveys,” he said Thursday, adding that the storms expected Friday evening could be violent.

In addition to lightning, hail and tornadoes, the storms brought rain, lots of it, with numerous flood warnings and flood watches issued by weather services in several states.

This week, crews were hurriedly pumping water from a dam in Cheboygan, Michigan, even removing floodgates to relieve pressure. City residents and businesses were asked Monday to pack a “go bag” with medications, documents and other important items, monitor official updates and “be ready to act” due to the threat of flooding.

In northern Michigan, Bellaire, population 1,000, said Thursday that its wastewater treatment system was overwhelmed, forcing the release of partially treated waste into the area’s wetlands. The village urged residents to reduce their domestic water consumption.

Carl Johnson, 59, owns a home on the fast-flooding Muskegon River in west Michigan. He took to Facebook to tell people his boats were ready if anyone needed help.

“Banks don’t have them everywhere anymore. It’s really bad,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s not expected to peak until Saturday.”

People living in the river floodplain below Croton Dam in Newaygo County were ordered to evacuate. It was not immediately clear how many people were affected.

The Wisconsin River is at major flood stage in Portage, Wis., and is expected to reach or exceed a record 20.7 feet (6.3 meters) Friday morning, meteorologist Gehring said.

“Right now it’s 20 feet away, not that far,” he said. “In Portage, there’s a large area of ​​flooded lowlands. A lot of roads are flooded. There’s a levee there. It’s important that the levee holds.”

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers declared a state of emergency earlier this week.

Cars were stranded in high floodwaters on a Milwaukee highway Wednesday evening and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office posted a message online urging people not to drive in southeastern Wisconsin.

But at least in Wisconsin, a reprieve could be near.

“We have one more bout of severe, heavy rain coming before we get a good break,” Gehring said. “It will be Friday evening. It will be the last breath of heavy rain.”

Bunting said the storm system will continue to move north and east and will likely take three to four days to finally move off the U.S. East Coast.

“The most concerning day in terms of potential for intense thunderstorms and tornadoes is likely Friday, extending from northern Oklahoma to central Wisconsin and far eastern Illinois,” he said.

___

Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan. White reported from Detroit.