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Wisconsin River Report June 19, 2003

Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company 2301 North Third Street Wausau, WI  54403 For more information contact Sam Morgan Phone: 715.848.2976, ex 301 Email: morgan@wvic.com

 

Timely June Rains Keep Reservoirs Full

 

Just when three weeks of very dry weather threatened to drop river flows below normal and start the summer drawdown of the reservoir system, timely rains totaling more than 2 inches in many areas returned over a five-day period from June 7^th to June 11^th according to Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company (WVIC). The rains more than doubled the flow of the Wisconsin River and kept the water levels in WVIC’s five large reservoirs near the full mark for another week. Total rainfall for the year continues to run slightly above normal with 13.0 inches in the northern valley and 12.5 inches in the central valley.

While it has been dry since the rains ended on June 11^th, river flows are still slightly above normal and more rain is in the forecast. Fortunately, computer models from the National Weather Service’s River Forecast Center in Minneapolis show that the rains will hold off until early next week, allowing residents and tourists to enjoy a warm, dry weekend with excellent reservoir water levels and near perfect river flows.

Air temperatures were above normal in the central and northern portions of the Wisconsin River Valley last week after a cool start to the month of June. At the Willow Reservoir near Minocqua the weekly average temperature of 65 degrees was four degrees above the June normal. The weekly average temperature in Wausau of 67 degrees was one degree above normal, but the average of 67 degrees at Prairie du Chien in the far southern basin was three degrees below normal.

Wisconsin River water temperatures reflected the warm air temperatures and rose to 72 degrees at Rhinelander and 74 degrees at Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids. The normal river temperature for the middle of June is 69 degrees.

 

Reservoir Water Levels			River Flow			Precipitation
Location	Feet Below Max	Weekly Change (Ft.)	Location	Weekly Average (cfs)	Monthly Normal (cfs)	Location	This Week (In.)	Annual Total (In.)	+/- Annual Normal
Rainbow	0.2	+0.4	Eagle River	N/A	494	Upper Basin	0.01	13.02	+0.65
Willow	0.3	-0.2	Tomahawk	2,508		Central Basin	0.12	12.47	+0.10
Rice	0.1	N/C	Merrill	3,522	2,497	Temperature
Spirit	0.4	-0.2	Rothschild	4,724		Location	Ave.	Normal	+/-
Eau Pleine	0.3	N/C	St. Point	6,093		Willow Reservoir	65	61	+4
Reservoir Storage			Wis. Rapids	5,900	4,939	Wausau	67	66	+1
Northern	91%	+1%	Petenwell	6,535	5,200	Prairie du Chien	67	70	-3
Overall	93%	+1%	Muscoda	11,444	10,127

 

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