Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 21, 1998

Scattered thunderstorms developed in an unstable atmosphere over southcentral Wisconsin in the early afternoon hours. These storms quickly became severe and merged over Walworth County. Hurricane-force winds were generated over the north side of Elkhorn (Walworth Co.); and the resultant wind damage strongly suggests that winds gusts peaked in the 100 to 110 mph range. Officials in Elkhorn declared a state of emergency and asked for extra help with the cleanup, thanks to hundreds of downed trees and many power lines. Several Elkhorn downtown office buildings suffered some minor damage, while 6 buildings on the north side along Highway 67 had considerable damage (3-minor, 1 major, and 1 destroyed). Thirteen people were injured and 14 vehicles sustained damage. This wicked dowburst then traveld through rural farmland east to the Walworth county line, destroying 3 farm buildings in the process. Altogether, about 27.000 customers in Walworth County lost electrical power. Further east, this wet macroburst became wider and left a path of damage or destruction about 6 to 8 miles wide across northern Kenosha County and southern Racine County. In the Burlington area (Racine Co.), 300 trees were downed and many powerline or poles, leaving 15,000 customers were left without power. A plane tied down at the Burlington airport was tossed over, and rowboats on a local lake were damaged. Elsewhere in southern Racine County, traffic lights were damaged, the Great Lakes Dragway was closed, and the YMCA toboggan slide was destroyed. In Kenosha county 7 semi-trailer tractors were blown over on Interstate-94 west of Somers (Kenosha Co.)! The downburst swath in northern Kenosha County also damaged several corn fields, downed hundreds of trees, leveled a barn near Somers, and damaged several homes. One account was that the town of Somers looked like a bomb exploded ater the storms passed through.