Flash flooding hits the Midwest, as dangerous heat stays put in the West
Milwaukee received a foot of rain in "a short period of time," the mayor said.
Large parts of the Midwest, including the city of Milwaukee, Wis., were experiencing flash flooding on Sunday as heavy rain fell across the region, prompting numerous water rescues, officials said.
A strong storm dumped 5 inches to a foot of rain on the Milwaukee area Sunday morning, flooding the basements of homes, toppling trees and leaving numerous drivers stranded on flooded roads.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier "Chevy" Johnson said at a news conference on Sunday that thousands of people in the city were affected by the severe flooding that took place overnight. Johnson said parts of the city saw a foot of rain in "a short period of time."
"This flooding event is very significant. It's something that Milwaukee hasn't seen in perhaps a decade or more," Johnson said.
Between 8 p.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday, the Milwaukee Fire Department and neighboring fire departments received 614 separate emergency calls, including 65 that required water rescues, said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski at the news conference.
Lipski said emergency crews also responded overnight to natural gas leaks, electrical wires and trees down, transformers exploding and a two-alarm fire.
No deaths have been reported from the flooding.
Rescuers pulled dozens of people from cars stalled in floodwaters and hundreds of vehicles were abandoned on flooded roads across the city, making it difficult to respond to emergency calls, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said at Sunday's news conference.
Crowley said Milwaukee County has declared a state of emergency, enabling county officials to deploy additional resources and to activate state and federal first responders to help in the flood-recovery efforts.
The storm knocked out power to nearly 60,000 utility customers in the Milwaukee area on Sunday, though power had been restored to roughly half that number by Sunday afternoon, according to We Energies.
It was the second consecutive day of flash flooding in Milwaukee. On Saturday night, flash flooding prompted authorities to close the Wisconsin State Fair State Fair Park in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis and cancel the final day of the fair on Sunday, authorities said.
"We are saddened we cannot deliver this final day of the Wisconsin State Fair, but know that this is the best decision with current conditions and the forecast ahead," state fair officials said in a statement.
The Paratriathlon and Sprint Distance National Championships, scheduled for Sunday in Milwaukee, were also canceled due to the pending foul weather, officials said Sunday morning.
"Unfortunately, due to the historic rainfall in Milwaukee, flooding and course damage throughout the course, limited emergency response teams to support the event, potentially unsafe water conditions, as well as impending weather for Sunday, it would not be possible to safely organize Sunday’s races," organizers said in a statement.
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport announced early Sunday that all its runways were flooded except for one. Officials said most of the taxiways and an underpass tunnel at the airport were also flooded.
Rescue crews in the Milwaukee suburbs of Waukesha and New Berlin reported that motorists had to be rescued after their vehicles were stranded in the rising waters.
Severe thunderstorms were also unfolding across Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.
Active severe weather is continuing to unfold from Colorado through Missouri on Sunday. Severe thunderstorm watches were in effect earlier on Sunday for Omaha, Neb., and Des Moines, Iowa. Now, parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and New Mexico remain under a severe thunderstorm watch until 8 p.m. MT. Storms hitting the area were producing damaging winds and isolated large hail.
Flash-flooding threats are expected to continue across the Midwest throughout Sunday as a stalled weather system is forecast to bring the potential for significant flash flooding through Monday.
A flood watch has been issued from Wichita, Kan., to Milwaukee through Monday morning, and includes the cities of Madison, Wis.; Kansas City, Kan.; and Rockford, Ill.
The highest flood threat will shift later on Sunday from Iowa and Wisconsin down into Missouri and Kansas, with multiple rounds of slow-moving storms expected to produce downpours at rates of one to more than three inches per hour.
By the end of the weekend, some areas of the Midwest could receive up to nine inches of rain from the multi-day storms.
Meanwhile, multiple areas across the country are coping with high heat and fire weather concerns this weekend, with over 30 million people on alert for dangerous heat.
Extreme heat warnings remain in effect for most of the West, including Phoenix, Ariz., and Palm Springs, Calif., where temperatures are expected to be well past the century mark and could climb as high as 115 degrees.
Other places in the West that are under heat advisories on Sunday include; parts of North Texas; Oklahoma City, Okla.
The threat of critical fire weather has become more localized. While conditions remain hot and extremely dry, winds has eased a bit compared to recent days. Only parts of southwestern Colorado remain under Red Flag Warnings through Sunday night.
Heat is also building up in the Northwest, where there’s an extreme heat warning in effect for Medford, Ore., as well as from Eugene to Portland, Ore. Possible high temperatures in Oregon are expected to climb to between 97 and 110 degrees on Sunday and the beginning of the new work week.
Other areas of the Northwest that are under heat advisories this weekend include Spokane and Longview, Wash.; Lewiston, Idaho; and Mount Shasta in Northern California.
Widespread heat is also forecast to return to the Midwest and the Northeast this week. Parts of Upstate New York and New England can expect highs between the upper 80s and into the 90s.
ABC News' Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.