SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) — Lines of thunderstorms crawled across Minnesota and Wisconsin on Sunday after overnight flash flooding washed out roads and highways, as a heat wave sent temperatures into the 90s in the Midwest.
The National Weather Service issued flood warnings from east-central Minnesota across northwestern Wisconsin.
U.S. Highway 2, a major thoroughfare across northwestern Wisconsin, washed out early Sunday about 10 miles west of Ashland.
Storm runoff moving down the Nemadji River after two days of heavy rain and thunderstorms also raised concerns in Superior, Wisc. Mayor Jim Paine said officials expected the river to continue rising and flood U.S. Highway 2 on the east side of the city, which would require a “very lengthy detour” that he said may be impractical for most people.
In Minnesota, State Highway 23 was closed for repairs where it washed out at the Nemidji River bridge in Carlton County, about 14 miles southwest of Duluth, the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s office said highway crews were also working Sunday on several other washouts and flooded roads.
Temperatures reached the high 90s Sunday in Chicago, approaching if not surpassing the hottest June 17 on record — 96 degrees in 1957.
