Record Rainfall Thursday

Cloudy Friday, then sunny, dry stretch to follow much-needed record rainfall

3 HOURS AGO  •  JEFF RICHGELS | MADISON.COM | JRICHGELS@MADISON.COM | 608-252-6449

Several days of postcard perfect weather are in the forecast for south-central Wisconsin in the wake of Thursday’s pounding thunderstorms that produced record rainfall in Madison.

Officially, the National Weather Service reported that 1.94 inches of rain fell at the Dane County Regional Airport on Thursday, topping the old record of 1.88 inches set in 1931 and boosting Madison’s September and meteorological fall (September through November) precipitation total (rain plus snow converted to liquid) to 3.02 inches, 0.97 inches above normal. For 2013, Madison’s precipitation total rose to 39.5 inches, 12.63 inches above normal.

The area saw multiple severe thunderstorm warnings on Thursday, but no major damage was reported. The storms did produce hail, strong winds that knocked down some trees and blew objects around, and some localized flooding, including at the intersection of University Avenue and Midvale Boulevard where several cars got stuck in rapidly rising water Thursday evening.

There’s a slight 20 percent chance of showers Friday after 3 p.m. in Madison as the high rises to near 72 under mostly cloudy skies with west winds at 10 to 15 miles per hour, the Weather Service said.

After an overnight low around 46 under mostly cloudy skies, skies are forecast to turn sunny on Saturday and stay at least mostly sunny through Thursday, with just light breezes during the period, ushering in calendar fall on Sunday with gorgeous weather.

Highs in Madison Saturday through Thursday are expected near 64, 66, 69, 73, 76 and 78, and lows Saturday night through Wednesday night should be around 43, 43, 50, 52 and 55, the Weather Service said.

27 Storm Track meteorologist Ben Burkel also forecasts a mostly cloudy and breezy Friday followed by several days of sunny and beautiful weather.

Burkel expects highs in Madison Friday through Thursday near 71, 64, 66, 70, 73, 76 and 78, and overnight lows around 47, 41, 44, 50, 52 and 55.

Thursday’s high in Madison was a muggy 87 at 3:24 p.m., 16 degrees above normal and 6 degrees below the record high of 93 for Sept. 19, set in 1948.

Thursday’s low in Madison was 67 at 11:17 p.m., 18 degrees above normal and 35 degrees above the record low of 32 for Sept. 19, set in 1956.