Wisconsin, 1997

High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997

April 6, 1997 · NWS MKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong gradient winds, enhanced by higher gusts associated with snow showers, periodically resulted in damage reports across Waukesha county. Throughout the county, large trees and powerlines were pushed over.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$180,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MKX wrote it up.

Strong gradient winds, enhanced by higher gusts associated with snow showers, periodically resulted in damage reports across Waukesha county. Throughout the county, large trees and powerlines were pushed over. At one point in time, nearly half of the county was without electrical service. A peak wind speed of 75 mph was measured in Big Bend around 1700 CST. At the Waukesha Airport, 5 hanger doors were damaged by the winds. Overhead garage doors were torn off on the UW-Waukesha Tech campus. In Elm Grove a fallen tree damaged a car. In Hartland, a fallen tree damaged a garage door. In Brookfield, a skylight window was damaged by a toppled tree. Over in New Berlin, a home's chimney was damaged by the winds, and a nearby church's roof was partially peeled off.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Waukesha

When
April 6, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Waukesha forecast zone
Measured
65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage
$180,000
Coordinates
43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5591703.