High Wind in Wisconsin, November 10, 1998

Name: High Wind in Wisconsin, November 10, 1998
Start: 1998-11-10T08:00
End: 1998-11-10T22:00
Location: Wisconsin

November 10, 1998 · NWS ARX · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 1
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $1.7 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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 ARX wrote it up.

Damaging winds associated with an intense low pressure knocked down power lines, trees, buildings, signs and left many without power. A 75 foot flag pole on Grandad Bluff near La Crosse was sheared off, while winds gusted to 93 mph at the nearby National Weather Service. Numerous duck hunters were stranded and rescued along the Mississippi River due to high waves and toppled boats. One death was reported when a man was hit by a falling tree near Genoa.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Grant

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.868, -90.706 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Juneau

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Juneau forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage: $180,000
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 43.924, -90.114 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, La Crosse

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: La Crosse forecast zone
Measured: 81 kt (93 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $225,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.907, -91.115 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Vernon

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Vernon forecast zone
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph)
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.594, -90.834 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Monroe

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Monroe forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Property damage: $175,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.946, -90.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Richland

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Richland forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.376, -90.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Buffalo

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Property damage: $85,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.380, -91.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Crawford

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage: $125,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 43.240, -90.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Adams

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.970, -89.771 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Trempealeau

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Trempealeau forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.304, -91.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jackson

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Property damage: $60,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.319, -90.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Clark

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.735, -90.612 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Taylor

When: November 10, 8:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Taylor forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $45,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.212, -90.501 (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
High Wind, Vernon	1998-11-10	70	Male	Under Tree	Direct

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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, November 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: 5670720, 5670721, 5670785, 5670786, 5670787, 5670788, 5670789, 5670790, 5670791, 5670792, 5670793, 5670794, 5670795.