Lightning, Ozaukee
- When
- April 5, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Ozaukee County, Mequon
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.403, -87.891 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, April 5, 2001
Lightning struck a home, resulting in major structural damage to the chimney and roof, but there was no fire. Three landscape workers were injured when the lightning bolt split from the chimney and struck them while they were loading their truck.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 3
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
Lightning struck a home, resulting in major structural damage to the chimney and roof, but there was no fire. Three landscape workers were injured when the lightning bolt split from the chimney and struck them while they were loading their truck.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Milwaukee, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 5, 1:50 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 1:50 PM CST, 1 hour 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI 250 PM CDT THU APR 5 2001 FCST FOCUS ON PCPN CHCS AND DVLPG WIND EVENT FOR LT FRI NGT AND SATURDAY. CONVECTION TODAY WITHIN A GOOD WARM AIR ADVECTION ZONE COUPLED WITH A WEAK RIPPLE IN THE MID LEVEL FLOW. CONVECTION ELEVATED ABOVE A COOLER SOUTHEAST SFC FLOW OVR THE CWA. EXPECT PCPN MAINLY THIS EVENING...THEN DIE DOWN AS BEST ISENTROPIC FORCING MOVES NE. TRIPPLE POINT OVR IA PROG TO SAG ESE OVRNGT WITH WINDS ACRS THE CWA EVENTUALLY TURNING BACK TO THE NW THEN NE AS TEMPORARY RIDGING BLDS OVR THE STATE. DWPNTS HAVE ALREADY CLIMBED INTO THE LOWER 60S ACROSS SRN IA IN WARM SECTOR OF TRIPPLE POINT RGN. MOISTURE NOT TOO FAR AWAY FOR ROUND TWO ON FRI INTO SAT. THINGS START TO UNFOLD ON FRI AS BIG LOW DEEPENS IN THE PLAINS. IMPRESSIVE H8 LLV JET OF +70KTS DVLPS OVR THE CNTRL PLAINS AND RAMS WARM AIR INTO THE RGN. SFC WARM/OCCLUDED FNT REACHES INTO THE CWA BY MIDNIGHT FRI NIGHT. MODELS INDICATE...IN VARYING DEGREES...A BAND OF CONVECTION WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE WMFNT. STRG RIDGING AND WARM AIR ALOFT MAY INHIBIT OR LIMIT WIDESPREAD DVLPMENT OVR THE CWA FRI EVENING...ACTION FOCUSING MORE TO OUR WEST THEN NORTH OVERNIGHT. IT APPEARS WE GET DRY SLOTTED ON SAT WITH LOWER 5-6KFT GOING DRY ADIABATIC. WINDS JUST A FEW THOUSAND FEET UP REACH THE 50-60KT RANGE...ACCORDING TO ETA...AND THIS MOMENTUM COULD EASILY MIX DOWN. WILL BEEF UP WIND WORDING FOR SAT. WITH THESE WINDS AND EXPECTED LOW DWPNTS...FIRE DANGER WITH ALL THE DEAD FUELS AROUND COULD SPELL A BUSY BRUSH FIRE DAY. WINDS SHOULD DIE DOWN SAT NIGHT. LATER SHIFTS WILL HAVE TO MONITOR FOR HIGH WIND WATCH. .MKX...NONE. DAVIS
The radar
The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:57 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flood in Minnesota, April 5 to 26, 2001
- Flooding in Iowa, April 5 to 14, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, April 5, 2001
- Hail in Missouri, April 5, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Missouri, April 5, 2001
- Flood and Hail in Iowa, April 5, 2001
- Flood and Hail in Illinois, April 5, 2001
- Hail in California, April 5, 2001
- Blizzard in Alaska, April 5 to 7, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Illinois, April 5, 2001
- Hail in Kansas, April 5, 2001
- High Wind in Alaska, April 5 to 6, 2001
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 2001
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: 5240185.