Flash Flood and Hail in Wisconsin, November 5, 2005

Name: Flash Flood and Hail in Wisconsin, November 5, 2005
Start: 2005-11-05T13:59
End: 2005-11-05T22:00
Location: Wisconsin

November 5, 2005 · NWS MKX · 5 events in 1 county or zone

An out-of-season round of pulse severe storms affected parts of Waukesha County with marginally-severe large hail. The coop observer in Brookfield noted that the ground was covered white with hail.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.1 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

An out-of-season round of pulse severe storms affected parts of Waukesha County with marginally-severe large hail. The coop observer in Brookfield noted that the ground was covered white with hail. The storms were associated with a warm front which pushed into southern Wisconsin as low pressure moved from Missouri to southern lower Michigan. Additional rounds of showers and thunderstorms, with locally moderate to heavy rains, continued into the evening hours over parts of Waukesha, Jefferson, and Rock Counties. However, the storms dumped larger amounts of rain (2.0 to almost 3.5 inches) in Waukesha County, resulting in flash flooding in the Sussex to Waukesha (city) area. Water depths up to 1 to 2 feet closed Highway 164 in the city of Waukesha, and forced two vehicle roll-overs on I-94 just west of the city of Waukesha that left the vehicles damaged. Also, water up to 1 foot in depth covered Interstate-94 near Pewaukee Rd. Widespread street flooding was reported in the city of Waukesha that caused several vehicles to stall. Fallen leaves plugging storm sewers contributed to the flash flooding. At the Milwaukee TV-6 school network site in Dousman, 3.41 inches of rain was measured. Around an estimated 2000CST, lightning struck a home in the Town of Merton (1.7 miles north of Hartland in Waukesha Co.) just east of Beaver Lake. The resultant fire quickly burned the expensive home to the ground. The 2005 assessed value of the home was $1,074,000. No one was in the home at the time.

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 Nov 5, 1:25 PM CST, 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 5, 1:25 PM CST, 34 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
125 PM CST SAT NOV 5 2005

DISCUSSION...
MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM IS RAPID CYCLOGENISIS EXPECTED THIS EVENING.
NAM AND GFS SIMILAR WITH NAM A LITTLE STRONGER. UPPER
DIVERGENCE INCREASING WITH APPROACH OF SHORTWAVE EXITING E CO THIS
AFTERNOON. AS UPWARD MOTION INCREASES...SHOWERS AND SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD RAPIDLY INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY.
RATHER STEEP LAPSE RATES IN MID LEVELS. AS RESULT HAIL POSSIBLE
WITH SOME OF THE STORMS...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHEAST.

NAM HAS THE LOW MOVING ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN JUST
AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH LOW DEEPENING TO 990 MB BY 12Z SUNDAY...THEN
TO 986 MB AS IT REACHES EXTREME NORTHWEST LAKE HURON AREA BY 18Z
SUNDAY. CROSS SECTIONS ACROSS SOUTHERN WI REVEAL STRONG ISENTROPIC
LIFT AND OMEGA WITH STRONG SLOPING FRONTOGENESIS AND MODERATE TO
STRONG Q VECTOR CONVERGENCE. RAINFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD RANGE FROM
1 TO 1.5 INCHES.

ALREADY ENCORPORATED NEW FORECAST INTO EARLY AFTERNOON ZFP UPDATE.
WILL LIKELY EMPHASIZE HEAVY RAIN WORDING FOR TONIGHT IN LATER
ZFP...AND MAY HAVE TO UP WINDS A BIT MORE.

RAINFALL OVER BY MID MORNING FOR MOST OF AREA WITH CLEARING AND
HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE TO BUILD INTO WI BY 00Z MON.

PATTERN REMAINS PROGRESSIVE BEHIND SHORTWAVE WITH COLD AIR
ADVECTION LATE SATURDAY NIGHT...REPLACED BY WARM AIR ADVECTION
MONDAY.

THE DAY 4 THROUGH 7 PORTION IS STILL PROBLEMATIC DUE TO THE STRONG
MAINLY ZONAL FLOW WITH RUN TO RUN DIFFERENCES ON TIMING AND
STRENGTH OF NEXT SIGNIFICANT SHORT WAVE FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AND
WEDNESDAY. 12Z GFS VERY DIFFERENT ON HOW IT HANDLES NEXT UPSTREAM
SHORTWAVE...BACKING OFF ON STRONG DIGGING OF THE SHORTWAVE BY THE
END OF THE WEEK. THIS APPEARS IN LINE WITH EVEN THE 00Z EXTENDED
MOS THAT SEEMED TO MOVE AWAY FROM THAT MODEL SOLUTION.

&&

.MKX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.
&&

HENTZ

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 5, 10:25 AM CST, 3 hours 34 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1025 AM CST SAT NOV 5 2005

WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-061100-
COLUMBIA-DANE-DODGE-FOND DU LAC-GREEN-GREEN LAKE-IOWA-JEFFERSON-
KENOSHA-LAFAYETTE-MARQUETTE-MILWAUKEE-OZAUKEE-RACINE-ROCK-SAUK-
SHEBOYGAN-WALWORTH-WASHINGTON-WAUKESHA-
1025 AM CST SAT NOV 5 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL
WISCONSIN...SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

RAIN IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP RAPIDLY ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON
AND POSSIBLY BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY THIS EVENING.
FLOODING PROBLEMS ARE NOT EXPECTED DUE TO THE DRY SOILS AND LOW
RIVER LEVELS...HOWEVER MOTORISTS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR THE USUAL
ROADWAY HAZARDS DUE TO HEAVY RAIN.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT
ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM DUBUQUE TO STOUGHTON TO PORT
WASHINGTON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

LMZ643>646-665-061100-
NORTH POINT LIGHTHOUSE TO WIND POINT-
PORT WASHINGTON TO NORTH POINT LIGHTHOUSE-
SHEBOYGAN WI TO PORT WASHINGTON-
WIND POINT TO WINTHROP HARBOR ILLINOIS-
1025 AM CST SAT NOV 5 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF LAKE MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WINDS AND WAVES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE RAPIDLY LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND OVERNIGHT. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM
THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT. THEN A GALE WARNING IS IN EFFECT
FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING.

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATER TODAY AND
TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CONDITIONS MAY BE MET TUESDAY NIGHT AND
WEDNESDAY.

COLLAR

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Waukesha

When: November 5, 1:59 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, 1 mi NNW of Mukwonago
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.883, -88.333

Hail, Waukesha

When: November 5, 2:02 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, 1 mi NW of Big Bend
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.900, -88.217

Hail, Waukesha

When: November 5, 2:19 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, 3 mi WNW of Brookfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.083, -88.200

Flash Flood, Waukesha

When: November 5, 7:15 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, Sussex
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.133, -88.217

Lightning, Waukesha

When: November 5, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, 2 mi N of Hartland
Property damage: $1.1 million
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, November 2005

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: 5479872, 5479870, 5479871, 5479873, 5479874.