Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, July 3, 2001

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, July 3, 2001
Start: 2001-07-03T18:25
End: 2001-07-03T20:55
Location: Wisconsin

July 3, 2001 · NWS MKX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Scattered severe thunderstorms affected parts of south-central and southeast Wisconsin during the evening hours of July 3rd. Damaging straight-line winds and large hail were reported.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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Tropical storms and surge
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Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: $50,000
Events: 3

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.

Scattered severe thunderstorms affected parts of south-central and southeast Wisconsin during the evening hours of July 3rd. Damaging straight-line winds and large hail were reported. The hail near Shullsburg (Lafayette Co.) damaged some of the corn crop. Two (2) inches of rain accompanied the hail near Shullsburg. Powerful downburst winds (estimated around 65 mph/56 knots/) toppled large trees and power lines in the Mayville to Theresa area of eastern Dodge county. Synoptically, a west-east orientated cold front slid southeast through southern Wisconsin. Air temperatures ahead of the front were 80 to 85 and surface dewpoints were in the mid to upper 60s. There was distinct veering of the winds across the front. In addition, about 50 knots of deep layer wind shear and a CAPE of 1400 existed. The wet bulb zero height was 9500 AGL.

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 Jul 3, 4:55 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 3, 4:55 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
555 PM CDT TUE JUL 3 2001

FORECAST FOCUS ON CURRENT PRECIPITATION TRENDS.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS
OVER THE CWA. THESE STORMS ARE OCCURRING AHEAD OF AN APPORACHING
TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE EXTENDING FROM NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN TO
CENTRAL IOWA. THE STORMS ARE OCCURING IN A RIDGE OF CAPES FROM 1500
TO 2500 J/KG...LIFTED INDICES OF -4 TO -6...AS WELL AS GOOD SURFACE
MOISTURE FLUX CONVERGENCE FROM THE LAPS MODEL. DEW POINTS IN THE
AREA ARE HELPING WITH VALUES RANGING FROM THE MID 60S TO 70 DEGREES.

NEW MESOETA PREDICTS THAT THIS RIDGE OF HIGH INSTABILITY EMINATING
FROM CENTRAL IOWA WILL LINGER OVER SOUTHERN WISCONSIN THOUGH THE
NIGHTTIME HOURS. HOWEVER THE STORMS MAY BE HARD PRESSED TO CONTINUE
WITH THE LOSS OF HEATING AND THE FACT THAT THE BEST INSTABILITIES
WILL REMAIN TO OUR SOUTHWEST. FOR THE TIME BEING WILL ONLY MENTION
EVENING WORDING FOR PRECIPITATION AND WAIT TO SEE IF THE STORMS DIE
OUT AFTER THE SUN SETS.

.MKX...NONE.

KURIMSKI

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:24 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Lafayette

When: July 3, 6:25 PM CST
Where: Lafayette County, 5 mi N of Shullsburg
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Crop damage: $50,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 42.633, -90.233

Thunderstorm Wind, Dodge

When: July 3, 8:40 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where: Dodge County, Mayville
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.500, -88.550

Hail, Washington

When: July 3, 8:55 PM CST
Where: Washington County, 2 mi W of Allenton
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.417, -88.367

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, July 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: 5259344, 5259346, 5259345.