Heat, Milwaukee
- When
- July 16, 5:00 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Milwaukee forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
Hot, muggy air settled over southeast Wisconsin. A new daily maximum temperature of 98 was set in Sheboygan, breaking the old record of 97 set back in 1931.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
Hot, muggy air settled over southeast Wisconsin. A new daily maximum temperature of 98 was set in Sheboygan, breaking the old record of 97 set back in 1931. Although Milwaukee recorded a maximum temperature of 92 (not a daily record), the daytime heat indices reached 110 and stayed above 80 in the evening. This led to a heat-related death of an elderly gentleman living in an apartment on the south side of Milwaukee.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Sheboygan
- When
- July 16, 5:00 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sheboygan forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.756, -87.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, Milwaukee | 1997-07-16 | 91 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
What these are
- Heat
- Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strike in New Jersey, July 16, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 16, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 16, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 16, 1997
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5612577, 5612578.