Flash Flood and Flooding in Wisconsin, July 8 to 9, 2002

Name: Flash Flood and Flooding in Wisconsin, July 8 to 9, 2002
Start: 2002-07-08T11:45
End: 2002-07-09T02:00
Location: Wisconsin

July 8 to 9, 2002 · NWS MKX · 12 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: $60,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

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.

A series of severe thunderstorms moved southeast through southeast Wisconsin wtih powerful winds that toppled trees and power lines, as well as damaging some structures. Damage to power lines resulted in the loss of electrical power to 12,000 customers in the Milwaukee area. Northwest of Beechwood (Sheboygan Co.), the winds destoyed one small metal shed, and rolled over a propane tank. Northeast of Ootsburg (Sheboygan Co.), the powerful winds toppled dozens of trees near Kohler/Andrea State Park, and damaged a couple homes. In Washington County, a car and boat in Hartford were damaged by toppled trees, and a shed near Jackson was blown down. Heavy rains associated with training thunderstorm cells created urban flooding in the city of Kenosha when .71 inches of rain fell in only 11 minutes (at the rate of 5.07 inches per hour). Likewise, urban flooding developed in the city of Sheboygan when 1.81 inches of rain fell in 70 minutes ending at 1910CST (...and 3.57 inches in past 5 hours). Synoptically, a mesoscale convective system moved southeast through Wisconsin overnight on the 7th and in the early morning hours of the 8th. The trailing edge of this system brushed Sheboygan county with isolated severe weather at mid-day. The outflow boundary left over from the MCS focused new thunderstorm development between Fond du Lac and Milwaukee as the low-level jet intensifed while a short-wave aloft moved through the area.

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 8, 9:45 AM CST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 9:45 AM CST, 2 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1045 AM CDT MON JUL 8 2002

FCST FOCUS FOR THIS AFTN ON SVR STORM THREAT AND HEAVY RAIN.

VERY POSITIVE TILT TO DEEP/WEAK TROF DROPPING IN PRODUCING WRLY
FLOW AT MOST LEVELS.  LLV CONVERGENCE LIMITED AS SFC LOW AND ASSOC
CDFNT ARE SHOWING A WEAKENING TREND.  ORIENTATION OF BNDRY ALSO
PRECLUDES GOOD LLV FORCING.  SOUNDINGS ARE WARM WHICH IS LIMITING
AVAILABLE CAPE. CAPES OFF THE NEW 12Z ETA PROG SOUNDINGS FOR MSN HAVE
NOW DROPPED BELOW 1000 FOR THIS AFTN. ETA QPF ACTUALLY SHOWS QPF
AMOUNTS DIMINISHING AFTER 18Z...PRODUCING UNDER A TENTH OF AN INCH AT
MKE AND LESS THAN 1/2 INCH AT MSN FOR THE EVENT.

OBSERVED PRECIP WATER ON RGNL SOUNDINGS SHOWS 1 1/2 TO NR 2
INCHES...SUGGESTING WHERE PCPN DOES MOVE IN...IT WILL BE HEAVY...BUT
ISOLATED.

WL CONTINUE HIGH POPS...BUT THREAT FOR SVR AND HEAVY RAIN LOOKS
DIMINISHED COMPARED TO 12 HOURS AGO.

.MKX...NONE.

DAVIS

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 8, 10:00 AM CST, 1 hour 45 minutes before

WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-082130-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1100 AM CDT MON JUL 8 2002

...HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR EMERGENCY PLANNERS...
...FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...

DAY 1 HAZARD...THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN.

DAY 1 PROBABLE EFFECT...DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS AND LARGE HAIL
ARE POSSIBLE WITH SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL MAY
CAUSE FLOODING IN URBAN AREAS.

DISCUSSION...CONDITIONS HAVE BECOME A LITTLE LESS FAVORABLE FOR
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS AN APPROACHING
FRONT HAS WEAKENED AND DEEP UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION HAS DIMINISHED.
HOWEVER...WHAT REMAINS OF THESE FEATURES WILL STILL INTERACT WITH A
VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE. IT IS STILL POSSIBLE A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL. LOCALLY HEAVY
RAIN UP TO 2 INCHES MAY CAUSE FLOODING IN URBAN AREAS.

OUTLOOK FOR DAY 2 TUESDAY...THERE IS NO RISK OF SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION...STORM SPOTTER GROUPS MAY LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...DETAILS AND DISCUSSIONS ARE CONTAINED IN
OTHER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS. CHECK OUR
WEB SITE AT WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/MKX

DAVIS

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:46 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheboygan

When: July 8, 11:45 AM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, 2 mi NE of Beechwood
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.617, -88.083

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheboygan

When: July 8, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, 4 mi NE of Oostburg
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 43.667, -87.733

Flood, Sheboygan

When: July 8, 6:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, Sheboygan
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates: 43.756, -87.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Rock

When: July 8, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Rock County, Janesville
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.683, -89.017

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: July 8, 7:13 PM CST to 7:16 PM CST
Where: Washington County, Hartford
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.317, -88.383

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: July 8, 7:23 PM CST
Where: Washington County, Jackson
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.317, -88.167

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: July 8, 7:27 PM CST
Where: Washington County, Germantown
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.233, -88.100

Flash Flood, Fond du Lac

When: July 8, 7:30 PM CST to 9:30 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County, 2 mi SW of Fond du Lac
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.754, -88.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash flooding closed some roads and washed out some gravel shoulders on the south side of the city of Fond du Lac. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches were noted, based on WSR-88D estimates and spotter reports. Water depths on US Hwy 41 between 151 and 175 reached 4 to 5 feet.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ozaukee

When: July 8, 7:40 PM CST to 7:50 PM CST
Where: Ozaukee County, Thiensville
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 43.233, -87.983

Thunderstorm Wind, Milwaukee

When: July 8, 7:42 PM CST
Where: Milwaukee County, Brown Deer
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 43.167, -87.967

Thunderstorm Wind, Waukesha

When: July 8, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, Pewaukee
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.083, -88.267

Flood, Kenosha

When: July 9, 12:00 AM CST to 2:00 AM CST
Where: Kenosha County, Kenosha
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 42.573, -87.840 (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.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, July 2002

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: 5307972, 5307971, 5307980, 5307981, 5307973, 5308032, 5307974, 5307978, 5307975, 5307977, 5307976, 5307979.