Lightning, Milwaukee
- When
- July 2, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Milwaukee County, Shorewood
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning induced fire destoyed a garage and parked car.
Hail and Lightning Strikes in Wisconsin, July 2 to 16, 1997
9 lightning, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
- 0
- Injuries
- 6
- Property damage
- $384,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 10
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.
The radar
The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:24 UTC.
Event by event
9 lightning, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Sauk
- When
- July 8, 1:00 AM CST
- Where
- Sauk County, 6 mi SE of Reedsburg
- Property damage
- $8,000
- Coordinates
- 43.427, -89.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning bounced off a large tree and struck a home, blowing a hole in the wall and causing smoke damage to home.
Lightning, Dane
- When
- July 8, 4:20 AM CST
- Where
- Dane County, Madison
- Property damage
- $6,000
- Coordinates
- 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A Madison Gas & Electric substation sustained a direct lightning hit leaving 2800 patrons without power for 3 hours.
Hail, Washington
- When
- July 13, 12:23 PM CST
- Where
- Washington County, 2 mi S of Kewaskum
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.480, -88.220
Lightning, Ozaukee
- When
- July 13, 1:17 PM CST
- Where
- Ozaukee County, Grafton
- Property damage
- $200
- Coordinates
- 43.403, -87.891 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning struck a fuse box at a Wisconsin Electric power company, leaving 150 homes without power for 5 hours.
Lightning, Columbia
- When
- July 16, 9:25 PM CST
- Where
- Columbia County, 3 mi E of Portage
- Property damage
- $80,000
- Coordinates
- 43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Much of a barn and most of it's contents were destroyed in a lightning induced fire.
Lightning, Jefferson
- When
- July 16, 10:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County, 2 mi NNE of Ixonia
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 43.021, -88.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning struck a machine shed. The ensuing fire destroyed the half-dozen pieces of farm equipment inside.
Lightning, Dane
- When
- July 16, 10:00 PM CST
- Where
- Dane County, Madison
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Coordinates
- 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A lightning bolt struck a home and started an attic fire.
Lightning, Dane
- When
- July 16, 10:05 PM CST
- Where
- Dane County, Madison
- Property damage
- $200
- Coordinates
- 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning struck and damaged a home 's chimney.
Lightning, Dane
- When
- July 16, 10:45 PM CST
- Where
- Dane County, Madison
- Injuries
- 6 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
An off-shoot branch of lightning struck 6 people, knocking them off their feet and causing headaches & numb fingers.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Michigan, July 2 to 4, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Ohio, July 2, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Indiana, July 2, 1997
- Heat in Illinois, July 2, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, July 2, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Hail in West Virginia, July 2 to 3, 1997
- High Wind in South Dakota, July 2, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Michigan, July 2, 1997
- High Wind in Minnesota, July 2, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, July 2, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, July 2, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 2, 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5612269, 5612270, 5612274, 5612271, 5612272, 5612273, 5612275, 5612278, 5612277, 5612276.