Wisconsin, 2002

Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, June 26, 2002

June 26, 2002 · NWS MKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a home in Pardeeville, starting a fire that gutted the 2nd floor. It traveled down to the 1st floor and blew out the front door's frame, blew out light switches, and knocked pictures off walls.

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.

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
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 in Pardeeville, starting a fire that gutted the 2nd floor. It traveled down to the 1st floor and blew out the front door's frame, blew out light switches, and knocked pictures off walls.

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 Jun 26, 2:38 AM CST, 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 26, 2:38 AM CST, 22 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
338 AM CDT WED JUN 26 2002

FCST FOCUS ON PCPN TODAY AND CHANCE THU.

RUC HAS GOOD HANDLE ON CURRENT CONVECTION TRENDS...SHOWING THE MORE
FOCUSED REGION OF CONVECTION OVER WRN WI. SOUTHWARD MOVING OUTFLOW
BOUNDARIES WILL CONTINUE TO TRIGGER STORMS IN THE SOUTHEAST AS
WELL. EXPECT ACTIVITY TO EXIT AREA OR DISSIPATE BY LATE MORNING
HOURS.

CDFNT WL SLOWLY MOVE ACROSS CWA THIS AFTERNOON WITH WK DIFF
CVA FROM UPPER TROUGH AIDING IN LIFT. THE COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF
STORMS WILL DEPEND ON HOW ATM RECOVERS. MID 80 TEMPS AND DEWPOINTS
NEAR 70 WILL SUPPORT CAPES FROM 2500 TO 3000 J/KG. WK WIND SHEAR...
BUT LARGE CAPE ALONE COULD SUPPORT ISOLATED SVR EVENTS. IF ATM
RECOVERS ENOUGH TO REMOVE CAP SRN CWA WILL HAVE BETTER CHANCE OF
STORMS DUE TO TIMING OF CDFNT.

NW FLOW AND LESS HUMID CONDITIONS FOR THU...BUT ETA SOUNDINGS
INDICATE CAPE AROUND 1000 J/KG WITH COMPLETE EROSION OF CAP. SOME
INDICATION OF A VERY WEAK SHORTWAVE AND SFC TROF MOVING ACROSS ERN WI
AS WELL. WILL INTRODUCE 30 POPS FOR THU AND THU EVENING.

GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK GOOD THROUGH FRI.

.MKX...NONE.

GEHRING

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Columbia

When
June 26, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Columbia County, Pardeeville
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.467, -89.334 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, June 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: 5303083.