Weather Service warns of flash flooding in Wisconsin

Torrential rains overnight and into Tuesday morning wreaked havoc on counties in far northern Wisconsin, with roads getting washed out, power lines and trees felled and people needing to be rescued from a Lake Superior island.

The counties most affected include Ashland, Bayfield, Sawyer, Washburn, Price, Iron and Douglas.

Officials say several areas in from Minong to Cable in northern Iron County received 8 to 12 inches of rain, causing flash flooding. The rest were expected to be rescued soon. Also at Saxon Harbor 85 boats were damaged or destroyed. The National Weather Service reported 11 inches of rain fell in the east-central Minnesota city of Sturgeon Lake.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Stewart says the Bad River at Odanah was at 27 feet, five feet above the record crest level of 22 feet and is forecast to rise another two feet from runoff. We do have some other state roads that are impassible.

A number of roads were blocked off by local authorities, with the assistance of the Iron County Highway Department, Xcel Energy, Hurley Police Department, and the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Wisconsin Emergency Management regional offices are on the scene working with county emergency management staffers.