Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 17, 2006

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 17, 2006
Start: 2006-07-17T12:48
End: 2006-07-17T22:55
Location: Wisconsin

July 17, 2006 · NWS MKX · 28 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: $192,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 28

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.

Two rounds of severe storms affected parts of south-central and southeast Wisconsin on July 17th. The first round occurred during the early afternoon hours over the counties of Dodge, Fond du Lac, Washington, and Sheboygan. By 1250CST the storms had organized into a bow echo line extending from Lake Winnebago south to near West Bend and Hartford in Washington County and then west to the Columbus area in southeastern Columbia County. This bow echo then moved east to out over Lake Michigan. Dime-size hail and thunderstorm wind gusts up to 65 knots (75 mph) resulted with some of these storms. Tree and power-line damage was reported in addition to some structural damage in Dodge and Sheboygan counties. A semi-truck was also blown off InterState 43. After a brief lull from thunderstorms, more storms developed during the evening hours across the remainder of south-central and southeast Wisconsin. These storms produced dime to quarter-sized hail and wind gusts to around 52 knots (60 mph). Mainly tree damage was reported with these storms.Interestingly, the cluster of severe storms that affected the southern parts of Lafayette and Green Counties moved east-southeast to McHenry County in northeastern Illinois. A strong thunderstorm gust front (outflow boundary), associated with the McHenry County thunderstorms, pushed north into southeastern Wisconsin. The gust front winds knocked down some trees in the Twin Lakes-Trevor area of western Kenosha County, and the Eagle Lake area northwest of Kansasville in south-central Racine County. No precipitation was associated with these outflow winds in Kenosha and Racine County. Eventually this gust front merged with another south-moving frontal boundary over the central portions of Racine County. Severe thunderstorms quickly popped up in this merger zone over central Racine County, and eventually they moved southeast through the remainder of Racine and Kenosha Counties (round #2 of severe weather for July 17th). Synoptically, a strong, mid-level short wave trough traveled east through Wisconsin during the afternoon and evening hours. Hot temperatures in the mid-90s with dew points in the low to mid-70s, and cooler air aloft, caused extreme instability to increase through the day which allowed for rapid thunderstorm development.

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 17, 12:00 PM CST, 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 17, 12:00 PM CST, 48 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
100 PM CDT MON JUL 17 2006

.DISCUSSION...FCST FOCUS ON SEVERE WEATHER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING.

ATMOSPHERE IS LOADED AND THE POTENTIAL ENERGY BUILDING IS
INCREDIBLE.  MUCH OF WHAT WAS MENTIONED BY PREVIOUS FCSTER IS STILL
VALID. MLCAPES RUNNING ABOUT 4500J/KG AND CIN HAS DROPPED OFF TO
NOMINAL LEVELS. CDFNT STILL NORTH OF THE CWA.  EXPECT WATCHES TO BE
ISSUED SHORTLY BY SPC.  ARRIVAL OF CDFNT INTO CWA AT PEAK HEATING
LOOKS SUFFICIENT TO TRIGGER SFC BASED POWERFUL CONVECTION. 0-6KM
SHEAR RUNNING ABOUT 30 TO 35KT BUT WILL DIMINISH TO ABOUT 25 KTS
DURING THE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY WEAK TOWARD THE SW FLANK. BETTER
SHEAR TOWARD KMKE.  MOISTURE IS POOLING AHEAD OF FNT WITH DWPNTS
SOLIDLY IN THE MID TO UPPER 70S.  LOOKS LIKE AWOS SITES ARE RUNNING
ABOUT 4-5C TOO HIGH ON DWPNT. PW CLIMBS TO ABOUT 2 INCHES AS THE
FRONT ARRIVES.  STORMS THAT DEVELOP WILL BE HEAVY RAIN PRODUCERS...
BUT FORTUNATELY THEY WILL BE MOVING.

EXPECT DAMAGING STAIGHT LINE WIND TO BE THE MAIN DANGER WITH THESE
STORMS WITH VERY LARGE HAIL IN SOME OF THE SUPERCELLS THAT DEVELOP IN
BETTER DEEP LAYER SHEAR.  TORNADO THREAT MINIMAL...BUT NOT ZERO.

CDFNT DROPS SOUTH OF AREA THIS EVENING WITH RIDGE AND NE WINDS BRING
A PERIOD OF COOLER WEATHER. FAST ZONAL FLOW CONTINUES THO IN THE
MID LEVELS WITH ANOTHER STRONG S/W PROGD IN HERE ON WED.
AMPLIFYING H8 TROF IN RESPONSE TO THE H5 S/W BRINGS A QUICK RETURN
FLOW AND HEAT/MOISTURE AXIS FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS...LEANING INTO
THE WRN GREAT LAKES ON WED. NOSE OF LLJ LIKELY TO PRODUCE MCS
UPSTREAM AND EXPECT THIS TO SPILL INTO THE AREA IN SOME FASHION ON
WED. UNCERTAINTY EXISTS WITH EXACT TIMING/PLACEMENT/SPEED OF MOTION
BY THAT TIME. MODELS OF COURSE RESOLVE THINGS DIFFERENTLY. SUFFICE
IT TO SAY...CHANCE OF STORMS WILL COVER IT FOR NOW.

CDFNT PASSES THROUGH ON THURSDAY WITH A COOLER PERIOD OF WX EXPECTED
BY THE LATE IN THE WEEK AND WEEKEND.

&&

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

&&

DAVIS

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 17, 10:00 AM CST, 2 hours 48 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
1100 AM CDT MON JUL 17 2006

WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-180945-
MARQUETTE-GREEN LAKE-FOND DU LAC-SHEBOYGAN-SAUK-COLUMBIA-DODGE-
WASHINGTON-OZAUKEE-IOWA-DANE-JEFFERSON-WAUKESHA-MILWAUKEE-
LAFAYETTE-GREEN-ROCK-WALWORTH-RACINE-KENOSHA-
1100 AM CDT MON JUL 17 2006

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
THIS EVENING OVER ALL OF SOUTHERN WISCONSIN. THERE ARE SEVERAL
THREATS. DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. IN
ADDITION THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR AN ISOLATED TORNADO OR TWO.

IT WILL BE HOT AND HUMID TODAY WITH TEMPERATURES RISING INTO THE
90S PRODUCING HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 95 TO 105. PERSONS SENSITIVE
TO THE HEAT...OR THOSE WITH HEALTH PROBLEMS SHOULD TAKE
PRECAUTIONS TO AVOID HEAT EXHAUSTION OR HEAT STROKE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY NORTH OF A
LINE FROM REEDSBURG TO MILWAUKEE. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE
DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY...AND AGAIN SATURDAY
THROUGH SUNDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS
EVENING.

LMZ643>646-665-180945-
SHEBOYGAN TO PORT WASHINGTON-
PORT WASHINGTON TO NORTH POINT LIGHTHOUSE-
NORTH POINT LIGHTHOUSE TO WIND POINT-
WIND POINT TO WINTHROP HARBOR ILLINOIS-
WISCONSIN ADJACENT OPEN WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN TO MID LAKE-
1100 AM CDT MON JUL 17 2006

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF LAKE MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM TODAY DUE TO GUSTY
SOUTHWEST WINDS. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS
AND LARGE HAIL. A WATERSPOUT CANNOT BE RULED OUT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY NORTH OF
NORTH POINT LIGHTHOUSE. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING
WINDS AND LARGE HAIL.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY...AND AGAIN SATURDAY
THROUGH SUNDAY.

COLLAR

The radar

The Green Bay radar (KGRB), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Fond du Lac

When: July 17, 12:48 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County, Rosendale
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.800, -88.683

Thunderstorm Wind, Dodge

When: July 17, 1:05 PM CST
Where: Dodge County, Lomira
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.583, -88.433

Trees and power-lines down. Garage door blown in.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fond du Lac

When: July 17, 1:05 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County, 1 mi N of Campbellsport
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.617, -88.283

Trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheboygan

When: July 17, 1:09 PM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, 2 mi SW of Beechwood
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.583, -88.150

Trees and power lines down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheboygan

When: July 17, 1:09 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, 7 mi W of Cascade
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 43.667, -88.133

Trees and power-lines down.

Hail, Fond du Lac

When: July 17, 1:15 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County, Dundee
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 43.650, -88.183

Hail, Washington

When: July 17, 1:17 PM CST
Where: Washington County, 2 mi E of Boltonville
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.533, -88.067

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheboygan

When: July 17, 1:35 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, (Sbm)sheboygan Co Ar
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 43.767, -87.850

Hail, Sheboygan

When: July 17, 1:39 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, Kohler
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.733, -87.783

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheboygan

When: July 17, 1:40 PM CST to 1:45 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, 4 mi NE of Oostburg
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.650, -87.750

Barn reported down with horses inside northeast of Oostburg. A roof antenna and weather station south of Sheboygan were damaged by the wind gusts. Tree and power-line damage around the city of Sheboygan where about 12,000 customers were without power. City work crews in Sheboygan had about 200 locations across the city where tree debris had to be cleaned up. Clean-up and overtime costs were unknown, but were probably substantial. Several homes had trees leaning onto roofs, and and least one vehicle was damaged when a tree fell on it.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sheboygan

When: July 17, 1:40 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, 4 mi SE of Sheboygan Falls
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.700, -87.767

Semi truck blown over about 1 mile north of Interstate 43 interchange with CTH V. Slight damage.

Hail, Marquette

When: July 17, 4:17 PM CST
Where: Marquette County, 9 mi NE of Westfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.967, -89.367

Hail, Marquette

When: July 17, 4:17 PM CST
Where: Marquette County, 3 mi N of Budsin
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.967, -89.333

Hail, Marquette

When: July 17, 4:35 PM CST
Where: Marquette County, Neshkoro
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 43.967, -89.217

Hail, Green Lake

When: July 17, 4:55 PM CST
Where: Green Lake County, 3 mi W of Berlin
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 43.967, -89.000

Hail, Columbia

When: July 17, 5:50 PM CST
Where: Columbia County, 2 mi N of Friesland
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.600, -89.067

Hail, Columbia

When: July 17, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Columbia County, Cambria
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 43.550, -89.100

Hail, Fond du Lac

When: July 17, 6:50 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County, 3 mi NW of Campbellsport
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.633, -88.333

Hail, Sheboygan

When: July 17, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County, 2 mi WNW of Sheboygan Falls
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.733, -87.850

Hail, Ozaukee

When: July 17, 7:35 PM CST
Where: Ozaukee County, 2 mi E of Belgium
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.500, -87.817

Thunderstorm Wind, Lafayette

When: July 17, 8:17 PM CST
Where: Lafayette County, 1 mi E of South Wayne
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.567, -89.867

Large trees and tree limbs down.

Hail, Washington

When: July 17, 8:18 PM CST
Where: Washington County, Hartford
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.317, -88.383

Thunderstorm Wind, Green

When: July 17, 8:20 PM CST
Where: Green County, 2 mi SW of Browntown
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.567, -89.850

Trees and some power-lines down in the area southwest through southeast of Browntown, including Browntown.

Thunderstorm Wind, Kenosha

When: July 17, 9:40 PM CST to 9:45 PM CST
Where: Kenosha County, Twin Lakes
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.533, -88.250

Trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Racine

When: July 17, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Racine County, 2 mi NW of Kansasville
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.700, -88.133

Tree and power-line damage in the Eagle Lake area northwest of Kansasville.

Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth

When: July 17, 10:12 PM CST
Where: Walworth County, Zenda
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.517, -88.483

Trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Kenosha

When: July 17, 10:35 PM CST to 10:55 PM CST
Where: Kenosha County, Kenosha
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.583, -87.833

Areas of toppled trees and broken tree branches, along with power-line damage, reported across the cities of Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie.

Thunderstorm Wind, Racine

When: July 17, 10:50 PM CST
Where: Racine County, Racine
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.717, -87.800

Trees down.

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 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, July 2006

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: 5519741, 5519740, 5519742, 5519674, 5519756, 5519671, 5519736, 5519672, 5519757, 5519673, 5519758, 5519738, 5519755, 5519737, 5519739, 5519744, 5519743, 5519745, 5519746, 5519748, 5519750, 5519747, 5519749, 5519752, 5519759, 5519751, 5519754, 5519753.