Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
Start: 1997-07-16T16:58
End: 1997-07-16T20:15
Location: Wisconsin

July 16, 1997 · NWS MKX · 18 events in 10 counties and zones

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: $77,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 18

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.

A hot summer afternoon spawned a series of severe thunderstorms which swept across south-central and southeast Wisconsin dropping large hail and causing wide scattered tree and power line damage. In the city of Fond du Lac a tree fell on a home causing significant damage to the roof and second story rooms. In the Elkhart Lake region of Sheboygan county, 70 mph winds were reported with numerous trees downed. High winds and tree damage were reported all across the northern half of Sheboygan county. Lightning played a destructive role when two homes were hit in West Bend, (Washington Co ) starting a fire that damaged walls and roofs. Thunderstorm winds were responsible for pushing trees on a home and a parked pickup truck just northeast of Pardeville (Columbia Co).

The radar

The Green Bay radar (KGRB), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:56 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fond du Lac

When: July 16, 4:58 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County, Fond du Lac
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 43.780, -88.450

Thunderstorm Wind, Green Lake

When: July 16, 5:13 PM CST
Where: Green Lake County, Green Lake
Property damage: $200
Coordinates: 43.830, -88.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Fond du Lac

When: July 16, 5:16 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County, Fond du Lac
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Coordinates: 43.780, -88.450

Hail, Marquette

When: July 16, 5:20 PM CST
Where: Marquette County, Neshkoro
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.970, -89.220

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheboygan

When: July 16, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, Elkhart Lake
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $4,000
Coordinates: 43.830, -88.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Green Lake

When: July 16, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Green Lake County, Princeton to Berlin
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 43.850, -89.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Marquette

When: July 16, 5:35 PM CST
Where: Marquette County, 2 mi SSE of Neshkoro
Property damage: $400
Coordinates: 43.930, -89.200

Hail, Green Lake

When: July 16, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Green Lake County, Princeton
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.850, -89.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Fond du Lac

When: July 16, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County, 2 mi NW of Waupun
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 43.650, -88.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Dodge

When: July 16, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Dodge County, Waupun
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 43.630, -88.730

Hail, Green Lake

When: July 16, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Green Lake County, Princeton
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 43.850, -89.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Marquette

When: July 16, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Marquette County, 6 mi NNE of Westfield
Property damage: $500
Coordinates: 43.970, -89.430

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: July 16, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County, Waterloo
Property damage: $700
Coordinates: 43.180, -88.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Dane

When: July 16, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Dane County, Marshall
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 43.170, -89.050

Hail, Marquette

When: July 16, 7:12 PM CST
Where: Marquette County, 4 mi N of Westfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.930, -89.480

Lightning, Washington

When: July 16, 7:20 PM CST
Where: Washington County, West Bend
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 43.369, -88.231 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Milwaukee

When: July 16, 7:42 PM CST
Where: Milwaukee County, Milwaukee
Property damage: $800
Coordinates: 43.030, -87.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Columbia

When: July 16, 8:15 PM CST
Where: Columbia County, 3 mi NE of Pardeeville
Property damage: $35,000
Coordinates: 43.570, -89.230

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, July 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: 5612360, 5612358, 5612361, 5612363, 5612364, 5612359, 5612362, 5612370, 5612369, 5612365, 5612372, 5612374, 5612366, 5612367, 5612373, 5612368, 5612375, 5612371.