Western Wisconsin hit hard with heavy rains

BUFFALO COUNTY, Wis. (KMSP) - Western Wisconsin was hit hard by heavy rains that worked its way across the Upper Midwest.

Near the Town of Modina, Wis., the Buffalo River spilled over Highway 37 and County Road KK as a result of heavy rainfall that created a mess of washouts across the area.

Dave Pelke of Glen Pelke Plumbing, Heating and Well Drilling Inc. knows water trouble all too well.

“I’ve been here my whole life and I’ve never seen water like this,” said Pelke. “Nothing like this, nothing like this. You can’t get to this place, you can’t get to that place."

He never expected early morning rainfall would lead to this much flash flooding.

“They said it was 8-9 inches of rain,” he said. “Everything’s already saturated, everything’s already flooded.”

According to the Wisconsin DOT, the damage across Buffalo County is significant, shutting down highways 121, 88 and 37.

“Pay attention to the signs and if there’s high water do not try to go through it,” said Greg Haig, Wis. DOT Maintenance Engineer.

There are also a washout on County Road N and Highway 37 and a culvert washout on Highway 88 and County U.