Not again! And in September!?!?

Even though it may not have been to the same degree in some places as it was just a little shy of a month ago, residents of Allamakee County once again found themselves at the mercy of Mother Nature and torrential rains in an overnight storm that dumped anywhere from two to seven inches across the county Wednesday night through Thursday morning, September 21 and 22. The dismay felt by area residents and officials at enduring another such storm less than a month after a very similar but, in places, heavier storm ripped through the same area is understandable, and somewhat compounded by the fact that it was happening in late September on what was supposed to be the first official day of the fall season.

Rainfall totals recorded by the National Weather Service ranging from around two inches in the southwest corner of the county, near Postville, to nearly seven inches in the northeast corner in the New Albin and Lansing areas resulted in numerous flash flooding, aerial flooding and river flooding warnings to be issued throughout Thursday, September 22 into the weekend. The upper end of those rainfall totals received in just one storm came close to exceeding by two-fold the typical average rainfall total for the entire month of September archived in that same area, according to National Weather Service statistics.

The storm also followed another three- to four-inch rainfall about two weeks earlier that, itself, followed the five- to seven-inch rain that first gripped the area around August 23. The end result is a substantial amount of flood damage to area crops, rural and urban infrastructure, and public and private property, with consideration that the longer-lasting impact could still be looming from the very saturated ground that makes up the unique topography of the area.

"The ground is saturated, and people need to be aware of hillsides," advised Allamakee County Emergency Management Director Corey Snitker. "Moisture in the ground is not usually a visible danger, but it can easily cause ground, rocks or trees to give way and create slides without any warning."

Snitker also advised that several County roads remain closed, some of which are still a result of the late August flooding. Repairs of land slides, wash-outs and undermining of those roadways will take some time to complete.

Even though the impact may not have been as significant to the Upper Iowa River that runs through Allamakee County as when it crested at a record 24.3 feet near Dorchester in late August of this year, the river still rose just above its moderate flood stage of 17 feet with a crest of 17.19 feet recorded in the late morning hours of Thursday, September 22 and maintained that crest for nearly a 24-hour period before dropping back below its flood stage of 14 feet around midnight Saturday, September 24. The river has since dropped down near 11 feet and is expected to continue to fall to its normal flow stage of below nine feet as the remainder of this anticipated week of forecasted dry weather unfolds.

MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI
The Mississippi River that absorbs the brunt of that Upper Iowa River excess flow has continued to make a steady but slow surge upward to just about 14.5 feet at its Lansing measuring gauge as of early Tuesday morning, September 27, but is expected to reach a crest of only 14.8 feet early Wednesday, still well over two feet shy of its flood stage of 17 feet. The greatest concern with the Mississippi River locally is the amount of debris that has flowed into and settled in the Big Slough area about a half mile south of where the Upper Iowa empties into the Mississippi. That issue is being addressed by a combination of local, state and federal authorities in a meeting later this week.

The Mississippi River at Marquette, however, is expected to exceed its flood stage of 16 feet and reach an anticipated crest of 17.2 feet that will produce minor flooding late Wednesday evening, September 28. As of the print deadline for this newspaper Tuesday morning, the river had just exceeded its 16-feet minor flood stage.

LOCAL COMMUNITIES
On the more local levels, Waukon City Clerk Al Lyon said the greatest issue within the Waukon community once again with this storm is the infiltration of the City's sanitary sewer system by the heavy rainwater flow. Many local basements took on an abundance of water once again with this storm, with the City's infiltrated sanitary sewer system backing up into basements in the lower-lying areas of the community.

Mayor Mike Brennan said that there remains two greatest areas of concern within the community of Lansing. Shaw Street, which Brennan described as a "complete loss at this point," has been washed out several times in the last month by heavy rains. The wastewater main that crosses Clear Creek near the former Northern Engraving plant has also been left exposed by torrential rains that caused Clear Creek to rush out of its banks. Brennan said that preliminary costs to remedy that situation have been projected at a minimum of $120,000.

The Lansing community also experienced the shutting down of Highway 9 early Thursday morning, September 22 at two locations. Flash flooding from a valley to the north pushed mud, rocks and tree debris onto Highway 9 near the entrance to Thornton Manor, a closure quickly cleaned up by the Iowa Department of Transportation. A bit closer to downtown, Highway 9 was also closed at its intersection with Shaw Street just below the Expresso Convenience Store due to standing water overflowing from the nearby Koch's Pond area.

The Black Hawk Bridge near Lansing was also closed for a bit Thursday morning as a result of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation shutting down Highway 35 due to mudslides. No traffic northbound or southbound was being allowed on Highway 35, rendering the Black Hawk bridge access point useless for a short time.

COULD BE WORSE
Whatever damage was suffered locally, however, still dims in consideration of the ultimate loss paid just across that mighty Mississippi River in Vernon County, WI, where two lives were lost during the September 21-22 storm. A 53-year-old Victory, WI man lost his life when a mudslide swept his home down the hill and on to State Highway 35, closing that roadway for an extensive period of time. Later that same day, a 79-year-old Viroqua, WI man had his pick-up truck and trailer caught in six feet of water, which quickly filled his pick-up cab and claimed his life.

State Highway 82 near De Soto, WI was also closed by a mudslide early Thursday morning, September 22. A train derailment further south near Ferryville, WI in Crawford County was also believed to be a result of the heavy rains and landslides.