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La Crosse received 7 inches of rain in June — including almost 3 inches in a single day. On Thursday, 2½ inches fell in a couple of hours.
The storms this week are the result of a weak frontal system meandering across the region and a “nice ample supply of moist air moving up from the gulf,” said Todd Rieck, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
The front is expected to stick around into next week, Rieck said, though it likely will move to the south over the weekend, shifting the focus of heavy rains to Iowa and northern Illinois.
Winona’s highest recorded rainfall for the month of June is just below
2 inches in one day, and though heavy storms have hit the area this month, rain levels have yet to come close to the July 1879 record of 4.7 inches in a 24-hour period.
This summer’s storms have run roughshod on some area trail systems.
Seven inches of rain over two days washed out culverts on the Oak Ridge Trail, closing two sections of the ATV trail near Black River Falls, Wis. Repairs are expected to take a month.
Officials at Whitewater State Park near Altura, Minn., said no trails are closed because of rain.
Near La Crosse, about a dozen volunteers spent two nights last week clearing the Human Powered Trails in Hixon Forest after winds blew down about 75 trees on July 7. Rain has hindered the construction of new trails, done by volunteers every Thursday evening.
HPT president Dan Luebke said there haven’t been any problems with erosion on the bike and walking trails, which he attributed to construction methods. “That’s why they’re the best-built trails in Wisconsin,” he said.
Storms have caused minimal damage to the trails in Hixon Forest, said Pat Caffrey, a volunteer with the Myrick-Hixon EcoPark.
Chris Hubbuch writes for the La Crosse (Wis.) Tribune. Winona Daily News reporter Sarah Burgen contributed to this report.
