1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
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 Mar 8, 3:15 PM CST, 2 hours 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI 315 PM CST FRI MAR 8 2002 FORECAST PROBLEMS INCLUDE FOG AND TSTMS TNGT...THEN TIMING OF CDFNT AND SURGE OF CAA AND STG WINDS SAT. SHORT TERM...BALMY 60 DEGREE TEMPS JUST TO OUR SOUTH ATTM AND TEMPS SHUD CONT TO RISE OR HOLD STEADY THRU MDNGT BEFORE STARTING DOWNWRD TREND. BREEZY SOUTH WINDS INCRSG TNGT WITH WAA BUT WITH AREAS OF FOG IN THE LULL BEFORE THE WINDS. HOPEFULLY THIS WL NOT REQUIRE ISSUANCE OF FOG ADVYS TNGT. LGT RAIN SHWRS SPRDG INTO WRN PTN OF CWA ATTM AND FCST TREND WITH CONTD INCRS WITH UNSTBL CONDS YIELDING A CHC OF TSTMS ONCE AGAIN TNGT. LONGER TERM...DEEPENING LO IN ERN CO XPCTD TO DVLP FAST TRACK ACRS KS TNGT...REACHING IA BY 12Z SAT...THEN CONTG NEWD INTO CNTRL WI WITH ETA TAKING MOST NRN PATH...BUT FAIR AGRMNT WITH MODELS. HWVR MODELS DISAGREE WITH SPEED OF CDFNT/CAA ACRS SRN WI WITH NGM MUCH TOO SLOW...AVN FASTEST AND ETA TAKING MIDDLE GRD. SOUNDING DATA OFF AWIPS AND BUFKIT AND ISENT PROGS IMPLYING STG DWNWRD MIXING DVLPG SAT ALG WITH TIGHT PRES GRAD. CUD SEE GUSTS TO 50 MPH AT TIMES SAT WITH SUSTAINED 30 TO 40 MPH. WIND ADVYS HV BEEN POSTED FOR SRN WI SAT. PRECIP TREND IS AS BEFORE...STARTING OUT LIQUID ERLY...THEN MXING WITH SNOW BEFORE CHGG OVR TO SNOW SHWRS WITH MINOR ACCUMS. WINDS BLOW BUT DCRS SAT NGT WITH CLRG AND COLDER CONDS. AVN MODEL IS THE COLDEST AT H850 WITH -18C BY 12Z SUN. SOME SUN AND WEAK WAA WL ALLOW TEMP TO REBOUND SOMEWHAT SUN. XTNND FCST...UNSETTLED AS USUAL WITH OCNL CHANCES OF PRECIP EITHER RAIN OR SNOW FM MON NGT THRU FRI. TEMPS AOA CLIMO NORMALS. .MKX...WIND ADVY SAT FOR ALL OF SRN WI ZNS. 0.../.../...0.../.../
The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:51 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning hit a home's satellite dish and sent a current into the home, resulting in damage to a computer system and all major appliances and household wiring.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, March 2002
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: 5286381.