Between 50 percent and 75 percent of city streets are flooded and impassible, and city officials are urging people to stay where they are unless it is an emergency.

“The number one thing they need to do is stay at home,” spokesman Jon Urben said. “Unless it’s an absolute emergency and they need to get out, they need to stay at home.”

Urben said the city has received numerous reports of residential properties that have standing water and flooding problems. The city has also received many reports of vehicles that have stalled while attempting to navigate the flooded streets.

“We’ll continue to monitor the problems with flooding even after the storms go through,” Urben said. “We’ll be dealing with this for several hours after the storm goes through.”

If residents have an emergency to report, they should call 911, but Urben said the city has set up a non-emergency incident hotline, (920) 236-5234, that residents can call to report residential or street flooding. If residents call the hotline, they should also make sure to document any damage through pictures and video.
9:34 p.m. - Sandbags around Mercy Medical Center

Mercy Medical Center security and maintenance teams are putting up sandbags around the hospital building on Oakwood Road.

Pamela Koehler-Zastrow, spokeswoman for Affinity, said there is a retaining pond outside of the building and it is filling up with water.

“We are taking precautionary measures to protect the hospital,” Zastrow said.

No flood-related admittances have been reported at Mercy Medical Center or Aurora Medical Center.

9:13 p.m. - Urben: Flood worse than Sunday, Father Carr offering shelter

The Oshkosh wastewater treatment plant reports it has measured 4.6 inches of rain in less than two hours, John Urben said.

The sheer intensity and volume of the rain caused the flooding to come very fast, coupled with saturation from Sunday, which has compounded the problem, Urben said.

“This is a very bad situation, especially with how saturated the streets were. Very few parts of the city escaped flooding.”

Right now, it depends on how long the rain is going to recede. The more it rains, the more it occurs. We can only hope that it will slow down at this point."

According to Urben, Father Carr’s Place 2B is providing rooms for residents displaced by the flooding. Call (920) 231-2378 for more information.
8:54 p.m. - County: Most of flooding in Oshkosh

Countywide, the majority of the flooding occurred in Oshkosh, said Linda Kollmann, county emergency management director.

Other areas have reported isolated flooding and the county is watching the Fox River in the area of Omro and Eureka, Kollmann said.

U.S. Highway 41 at Highway 26 is closed, Winnebago County Sheriff Michael Brooks said. Traffic is being diverted southbound to minimize traffic entering the city.

There is also standing water at Ninth Avenue and Highway 41.

Brooks said no serious injuries have been reported in the county as a result of the flooding.

7:30 p.m. - county roads blocked

Winnebago County has deemed the interstate roadways impassable, according to a press release from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Travel is strongly discouraged unless for emergencies.

According to a dispatcher at the Sheriff's Department, Highway 41 at Ninth Avenue has water that is running over the roadways southbound.

The National Weather Service continued flash flood warnings for Winnebago, Waushara and Green Lake counties.

State Highway 44 in southern Green Lake County was closed due to high water and several other roads and highways had standing water.

"We got a couple bridges out but I don't know exactly where. We're compiling a list of everything," said Gary Podoll, emergency management director for Green Lake County. "We've got more stuff going on. More rain is coming."

The bridge on State Highway 73 was out, according to a Green Lake County sheriff's dispatch officer.
7:05 p.m. - City issues report

With many of the city’s streets impassable due to flooding, city officials are urging people to stay where they are unless it is an emergency.

"The number one thing they need to do is stay at home," spokesman Jon Urben said. "Unless it’s an absolute emergency and they need to get out, they need to stay at home."

Between 50 and 75 percent of the streets in the city are either closed or impassable due to flooding, Urben said, and the city has received numerous reports of residential properties that have standing water and flooding problems. The city has also received many reports of vehicles that have stalled out while attempting to navigate the flooded streets.

6:18 p.m. - flash flood warning extended to 9 p.m.

A flash flood warning was extended to 9 p.m.

Slow moving thunderstorms will gradually depart to the east early in the evening, according to a statement from the National Weather Service Station in Green Bay.

However, another inch of rain is coming about 7:30 p.m.

Do not drive your vehicle into areas where water covers the roadway. The water depth might be too great to allow your car to cross. Move to higher ground.
6:02 p.m. - car trapped in water, flooded basements

At 5:57 p.m., Oshkosh Police Department officers are responding to a car stuck in four feet of water at Jackson Street and Lindale Avenue. People are reported to be inside the vehicle. Another stalled car has been reported on Waugoo Avenue.

Officers and WPS servicemen are also responding to flooded basements in the south side of Oshkosh.

Robert Hernke, WPS spokesman, said the outages are taking place mostly in the central part of the city.

High winds and heavy rain are the major factors, along with a few direct lightning strikes to power lines and transformers, Hernke said.

Hernke advises residents to take shelter where severe weather is taking place. Stay away from downed power lines and assume that every power line is still working

If you see a downed power line, contact WPS at (800) 450-7240 or call 911.

As of 6:17 p.m., 16 outages have been reported affecting 4,800 customers.

5:50 p.m. - Waterfest cancelled, flooding reports coming in

The Waterfest concert tonight is cancelled with a series of severe thunderstorms now over Oshkosh.

"There is too much coming up from Waupun and Ripon and we don’t want anyone on the road," Waterfest director Mike Dempsey said.

Scheduled to perform were Chicago singer/songwriter Cameron McGillis, Appleton's Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons, and headliner BoDeans.

"We’ll dry ourselves off and start again next week," Dempsey said. "We’ve got two strong weeks to finish June with. I hope people will come support the events. We will need all the help that we can get."

Flooding is occurring all over Oshkosh.

Major flooding is occurring on Jackson Street, south of Pearl Avenue and also on Eighth Avenue on Michigan Street, and the 2500 block of 20th Avenue.

U.S. Highway 41 at State Highway 21 is also flooded at this point.

As of 5:57 p.m., WPS is responding to 14 power outages affecting 2,109 customers.

5:25 p.m. - WPS reporting outages

Several homes in Oshkosh face power outages during a series of severe thunderstorm that could delay the local weekly concert series.

According to the Wisconsin Public Service Web site at 5:30 p.m., repairmen are dealing with addressing five power outages in the area that are affecting at least 33 customers.

Dennis King, WPS customer service coordinator, said lightning caused outages in the early afternoon on the east side and the south side of Oshkosh. The outages occurred on Rosalia Street and Waugoo Avenue, and on Oregon Avenue from 17th to 22nd avenues.

Approximately 400 people lost power at that time, King said.

5:01 p.m. - Waterfest concert delayed

Waterfest director Mike Dempsey remains optimistic that most, if not all, of week four's Watefest Concert Series could go on as scheduled if a series of severe thunderstorms passes through Oshkosh by 6 p.m.

Dempsey said Waterfest also installed new curtains around the stage to help keep performers dry.

However, Dempsey stressed that the event is foremost concerned about safety of patrons and performers and if lightning continues this evening it could mean delays.

4:55 p.m. - severe thunderstorm warning issued

The National Weather Service Station in Green Bay has issued a severe weather warning for Winnebago County and tornado warnings for Fond du Lac and Green Lake counties.

A cluster of strong thunderstorms south of Oshkosh are moving northeast at 40 miles per hour.

The thunderstorms will move toward Omro and Oshkosh by 5 p.m. Torrential rains will produce urban street flooding, ponding of water on area highways and very poor visibilities.