Spotty storms in Northeast Wisconsin

CLINTONVILLE - The vast majority of Northeast Wisconsin did get a good soaking. But summer thunderstorms are notoriously fickle.

And for some farmers around the Clintonville area it seemed like it rained everywhere except on their farm.

• Click here to see ReportIt photos of the rain from across Northeast Wisconsin

The storms started rumbling through Waupaca and Outagamie counties around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

And by 5 p.m., the storms rolled into Brown County and would continue on and off throughout the night.

It seemed like everyone was getting the inch or two of rain we so desperately needed.

But just north of Clintonville, dairy farmer Bryan Birling was wondering what all the fuss was about.

“Mile down the road, in town, they got well over an inch. And, I mean, we're located a mile out and we got about three tenths. It's been like that for the whole month. You get a quarter mile down the road and they get a half inch, and you get nothing,” said Birling.

And that is exactly the problem with summer storms; you never know exactly where they'll hit or how much you'll get.

On the radar showing estimated precipitation from Tuesday and Tuesday night's storms, there’s a very clear wide swath from near Menominee County all the way down through Manitowoc County.

But even with this, as we zoom in to Clintonville, you can see some of the holes in what looks like a solid band of inch or more rainfall.

In the town, this indicates over an inch, which matches reports very closely.

Just north of the town that quickly dwindles to just a trace.

But even though Birling missed out on the heaviest rain, he says he'll take what he can get.

“Every little bit helps. I mean, it might not be much, but if it puts it off, holds on for three, four more days, that gives three more days chance for rain,” said Birling.

Crops are still hurting in spots that didn't pick up much rain.

But there is good news. There are several chances for rain coming over the next few days.

Hopefully, farmers like Bryan Birling can get lucky and at least pick up a quick shower to keep them going a little longer.

Other areas that also missed out on almost all the rain were Green Lake, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties.

While these areas are among the hardest hit by the drought in our area, they also stand as good a chance as anyone to see some rain Wednesday night.