Lightning, Walworth
- When
- September 19, 10:46 AM CST
- Where
- Walworth County, Elkhorn
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Tornado and Flooding in Wisconsin, September 19, 1997
Severe thunderstorm winds were responsible for scattered tree and power line damage. Hardest hit was Walworth county were a barn was blown off it's foundation near Sharon (Walworth Co) and another out-building damaged.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 10 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
- 1
- Property damage
- $1.2 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 16
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.
Severe thunderstorm winds were responsible for scattered tree and power line damage. Hardest hit was Walworth county were a barn was blown off it's foundation near Sharon (Walworth Co) and another out-building damaged. Several other homes around the county experienced expensive lightning damage due to fires. The 911 center in Elkhorn (Walworth Co) was temporarily disabled when lightning destroyed the communications center, forcing the use of a backup system. In addition, lightning struck and injured a woman in Elkhorn as the storms rolled through that city. Heavy rains of 3 to 4 inches caused urban street flooding on the west side of Monroe in Green county with other incidences of urban flooding reported in Racine and Kenosha counties. In the city of Racine (Racine Co), 1.14 inches fell in 30 minutes, while west of New Munster (Kenosha Co), 3.75 inches fell in 3 hours, and resulting in street flooding around New Munster to Twin Lakes (Kenosha Co). Many cars stalled in flooded low spots in both counties. Later in the afternoon a brief tornado touched down on the roof of an east side Lake Mills (Jefferson Cc) factory. About 61000 square feet of the 10 acre roof was damaged.
The radar
The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:14 UTC.
Event by event
6 lightning, 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 flood, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Walworth
- When
- September 19, 10:50 AM CST
- Where
- Walworth County, Elkhorn
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Green
- When
- September 19, 11:00 AM CST to 1:00 PM CST
- Where
- Green County, Monroe
- Coordinates
- 42.680, -89.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning, Walworth
- When
- September 19, 11:00 AM CST
- Where
- Walworth County, 2 mi NE of Sharon
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Thunderstorm Wind, Green
- When
- September 19, 11:16 AM CST
- Where
- Green County, Monroe
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Coordinates
- 42.600, -89.630
Lightning, Walworth
- When
- September 19, 11:40 AM CST
- Where
- Walworth County, Walworth
- Property damage
- $40,000
- Coordinates
- 42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Kenosha
- When
- September 19, 12:00 PM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kenosha County, Twin Lakes
- Property damage
- $500
- Coordinates
- 42.573, -87.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Thunderstorm Wind, Rock
- When
- September 19, 12:05 PM CST
- Where
- Rock County, Beloit
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Coordinates
- 42.520, -89.030
Thunderstorm Wind, Rock
- When
- September 19, 12:20 PM CST
- Where
- Rock County, 4 mi SE of Clinton
- Property damage
- $300
- Coordinates
- 42.530, -88.820
Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth
- When
- September 19, 12:30 PM CST
- Where
- Walworth County, 2 mi N of Sharon
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 42.520, -88.730
Flood, Racine
- When
- September 19, 12:45 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Racine County, Racine
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Coordinates
- 42.730, -87.812 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Kenosha
- When
- September 19, 12:45 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kenosha County, Kenosha
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Coordinates
- 42.573, -87.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning, Walworth
- When
- September 19, 12:50 PM CST
- Where
- Walworth County, 3 mi NE of Lake Geneva
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning, Walworth
- When
- September 19, 12:50 PM CST
- Where
- Walworth County, 3 mi N of Walworth
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Coordinates
- 42.669, -88.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Thunderstorm Wind, Racine
- When
- September 19, 1:00 PM CST
- Where
- Racine County, 4 mi SE of Burlington
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Coordinates
- 42.630, -88.220
Tornado, Jefferson
- When
- September 19, 4:55 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County, Lake Mills
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Property damage
- $650,000
- Coordinates
- 43.080, -88.900
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
- 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.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, September 19, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, September 19, 1997
- Hail in Wisconsin, September 19, 1997
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Michigan, September 19, 1997
- Lightning Strikes in Illinois, September 19, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Utah, September 19, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, September 19, 1997
- Waterspout in Florida, September 19, 1997
- Waterspout in Florida, September 19, 1997
- Heat in Georgia, September 19, 1997
- Heat in Alabama, September 19, 1997
- Waterspout in Florida, September 19, 1997
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Wisconsin, 1997Warnings in Wisconsin, September 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: 5616620, 5616625, 5616550, 5616619, 5616548, 5616621, 5616629, 5616546, 5616547, 5616624, 5616626, 5616628, 5616622, 5616623, 5616627, 5616549.