Flood and Hail in Wisconsin, May 12 to 13, 1998

Name: Flood and Hail in Wisconsin, May 12 to 13, 1998
Start: 1998-05-12T17:40
End: 1998-05-13T00:05
Location: Wisconsin

May 12 to 13, 1998 · NWS MKX · 8 events in 6 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: $48,000
Crop damage: $30,000
Events: 8

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.

Classic summer thunderstorms became severe as they rumbled across southern Wisconsin during the evening hours to just past midnight. Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Rock county near Newark and Footville with lightning igniting a home fire in Beloit. In Sauk county severe hail mulched hay fields and damaged a home near Loganville. Large hail was also reported near Manchester in Green Lake county. Lightning struck an apartment building in Sussex (Washington Co.) and started a damaging fire. Lightning hit a steeple in Port Washington (Ozaukee Co.) and caused damage to the roof and electrical hardware inside the building, Heavy rain produced urban flooding in Kenosha (Kensoha Co.) where 1.5 inches of rainfall resulted in 1 foot standing water. Also, 1.19 inches of rain was measured in Janesville (Rock Co.). Finally, electrical services were disrupted to 16,000 customers in Rock, Kenosha, Jefferson and Racine counties due to downed power lines and lightning damage.

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:37 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 lightning, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Rock

When: May 12, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Rock County, Newark
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 42.550, -89.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Rock

When: May 12, 5:55 PM CST
Where: Rock County, Footville
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 42.670, -89.200

Hail, Sauk

When: May 12, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Sauk County, Hillpt to 2 mi NE of Loganville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $17,000
Crop damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 43.380, -90.120

Hail, Green Lake

When: May 12, 7:50 PM CST to 7:51 PM CST
Where: Green Lake County, 1 mi S of Manchester
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 43.670, -89.030

Lightning, Rock

When: May 12, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Rock County, Beloit
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 42.671, -89.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Kenosha

When: May 12, 9:30 PM CST to 10:59 PM CST
Where: Kenosha County, Kenosha
Coordinates: 42.573, -87.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Waukesha

When: May 12, 11:30 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, Sussex
Property damage: $2,000
Coordinates: 43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Ozaukee

When: May 13, 12:05 AM CST
Where: Ozaukee County, Port Washington
Property damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 43.403, -87.891 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, May 1998

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: 5641409, 5641410, 5641411, 5641412, 5641413, 5641416, 5641414, 5641415.