Heavy rains in Merrill and farther north are causing rivers to swell in the area this week.
According to WJFW meteorologist Geoff Weller, the Merrill area received 4.33 inches of rain from Monday through Wednesday.
The Wisconsin River at Merrill was at 11.92 feet Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Minor flood stage at that location in the river is 11 feet. The river is expected to crest at 13 feet on Friday, below the moderate flood stage of 13.5 feet, before dropping back down over the weekend.
Riverside Park in Merrill has been closed due to the Wisconsin River spilling over into the parking lot and playground. There is also some flooding in Stange’s Park and Prairie River Trails Park.
The Lincoln County Highway Department has placed high water signs at the gravel portion of Cty, E in the Newwood area, but the road remained open Tuesday afternoon.
Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Jeff Kraft noted that the only concentrated storm damage in the county was in the Town of King east of Tomahawk. A garage on Cty. D was damaged by wind. In that same area, a 100-yard wide swath of trees was also wind damaged. Another similar-sized patch of trees were damaged on Pine Shore Lane. Kraft has submitted photos of the damage in the town of King to the National Weather Service, so they can determine whether the damage was caused by straight line winds or rotational.
There were other scattered incidents of trees coming down on power lines in the Gleason and Irma areas, causing power outages Tuesday night. The outages initially impacted more than 600 Wisconsin Public Service customers, but all outages have been repaired.