Space-Time Variability of Rainfall and Extreme Flood Response in the Menomonee River Basin, Wisconsin

Abstract The hydrometeorological processes that control flash flooding are examined through analyses of space–time rainfall variability and flood response in the Milwaukee metropolitan region. The analyses focus on four flood events in the Menomonee River basin that occurred 21 June 1997, 2 July 1997, 6 August 1998, and 21 July 1999. The June 1997 and August 1998 flood events produced record flood peaks in the Menomonee River and its tributaries. Rainfall analyses, which are based on WSR-88D radar reflectivity observations and rainfall measurements from a dense network of rain gauges maintained by the city of Milwaukee, provide rainfall fields for each event at 1-km spatial resolution and 5-min timescale. The June 1997 and August 1998 storms exhibited striking contrasts in storm structure, evolution, and motion. Analyses of the structure and evolution of these storms are presented in conjunction with scaling analyses of the rainfall fields. The contrasting storm-scale properties of the June 1997 and Augus...

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