Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 13, 2007

Name: Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 13, 2007
Start: 2007-08-13T20:20
End: 2007-08-13T20:20
Location: Wisconsin

August 13, 2007 · NWS DLH · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A warm front and unstable airmass produced severe thunderstorms with high winds and intense lightning across portions of northwest Wisconsin on August 13. Lightning struck a home in Grantsburg, causing electrical and structural damage.

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: $4,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 DLH wrote it up.

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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 13, 2:18 PM CST, 6 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 13, 2:18 PM CST, 6 hours 2 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
318 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

.DISCUSSION...MAIN FORECAST FOCUS IS ON POSSIBLE SEVERE CONVECTIVE
EVENT TONIGHT. CURRENT SURFACE ANALYSIS DEPICTS MAIN LOW PRESSURE
CENTERED OVER THE CENTRAL DAKOTAS. DEWPOINTS ACROSS DLH FA JUST
NOW STARTING TO CLIMB SLOWLY THIS AFTERNOON IN RESPONSE TO
INCREASING SOUTHERLY FLOW. MAIN WARM FRONT AND MOISTURE AXIS STILL
LOCATED ACROSS ND/SD BORDER INTO WEST CENTRAL MN...AND SE ACROSS
SOUTHERN MN. EARLY NE NODAK STRONG CONVECTION HAS MOSTLY
DISSIPATED UNDER STRONG CAP. HOWEVER STRONG NE ND SUPERCELL
WHICH INITIATED AHEAD OF SHORT WAVE /CURRENTLY SEEN ON WATER VAPOR
IMAGERY OVER NODAK/ HAS SUSTAINED ITSELF NORTH OF THE MAIN SFC
WARM FRONT. COVERAGE OF CONVECTION SHOULD INCREASE THIS EVENING
ALONG NOSE OF DEVELOPING LLJ WITH WARM/MOIST AIR ADVECTING TOWARD
EDGE OF CAP INTO W AND SW ZONES. SEVERE SUPERCELLS WILL BE
POSSIBLE GIVEN STRONG DEEP LAYER SHEAR...AND INCREASING
INSTABILITY THIS EVENING /ESPECIALLY ACROSS SW/. SOME STORMS WILL
PROGRESS ESE WITH THICKNESS GRADIENT...WITH THE STRONGER STORMS
LIKELY MOVING SE ALONG THE MAIN MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY GRADIENT.
ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT LOOKS TO PUSH THROUGH THE DLH AREA TOMORROW
MORNING...WITH POSSIBLE LINGERING SHOWERS/TSTMS IN THE MORNING
ACROSS EASTERN FA.

FAST NORTHWEST FLOW PATTERN KEEPS FORECAST UNCERTAIN THROUGH MID
WEEK AS MAIN BAROCLINIC BOUNDARY REMAINS IN VICINITY. WILL LEAVE ANY
POPS OUT AT THIS TIME...BUT WILL NEED TO MONITOR MODEL TRENDS OF
WEAK SHORT WAVES IN FLOW ALOFT. SIGNIFICANT COLD FRONT WILL PUSH
THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS CLOSED LOW SKIRTS ACROSS ONTARIO...AND
HAVE MAINTAINED SMALL POPS ALONG WITH THIS FEATURE. COOL AND DRY
CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN BEHIND COLD FRONT...WITH SEASONABLY
COOLS TEMPERATURES ON THE WAY FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY ACROSS THE
NORTHLAND.

&&

.AVIATION...A COLD FRONT WILL TRACK EAST ACROSS THE UPPER
MIDWEST...PRODUCING SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WITH MVFR-IFR CIGS AND
VSBYS ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. A FEW STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. AREAS OF LOWER
CLOUDS WITH MVFR CIGS WILL LINGER OVER PARTS OF THE NORTHLAND
TUESDAY MORNING...THEN DISSIPATE BY MIDDAY. WINDS WILL SHIFT OUT
OF THE WEST AND NORTHWEST TONIGHT OR TUESDAY MORNING AFTER THE
FRONT PASSES.

&&

POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DLH  60  79  51  77 /  50  10  10  10
INL  56  75  45  75 /  40  10  10  10
BRD  62  82  53  83 /  50  10  10  10
HYR  65  84  50  83 /  60  20  10  10
ASX  62  78  51  80 /  50  20  10  10

&&

.DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

MN...NONE.
WI...NONE.
LS...NONE.

LILES/BERDES

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 13, 2:32 PM CST, 5 hours 48 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
332 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

LSZ121-140>148-162-MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-
006>009-141030-
BAYFIELD TO OAK POINT WI-GRAND PORTAGE TO GRAND MARAIS MN-
GRAND MARAIS TO TACONITE HARBOR MN-
TACONITE HARBOR TO SILVER BAY HARBOR MN-
SILVER BAY HARBOR TO TWO HARBORS MN-TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN-
DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-PORT WING TO SAND ISLAND WI-
SAND ISLAND TO BAYFIELD WI-OAK POINT TO SAXON HARBOR WI-
OPEN WATERS OF LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF A LINE FROM SAXON HARBOR WI
TO GRAND PORTAGE MN-KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-
NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-NORTHERN ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-
SOUTHERN LAKE/LAKESHORE-SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-NORTHERN CASS-
SOUTHERN ITASCA-SOUTHERN CASS-CROW WING-NORTHERN AITKIN-
SOUTHERN AITKIN-CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BAYFIELD-
ASHLAND-IRON-BURNETT-WASHBURN-SAWYER-PRICE-
332 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

...SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA...
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN AND WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA
THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE...MAINLY
THIS EVENING. THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE
SOUTHWEST OF A LINE FROM INTERNATIONAL FALLS TO DULUTH
MINNESOTA...AND TO PARK FALLS WISCONSIN. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING
WINDS WILL BE THE MOST LIKELY HAZARDS WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND AGAIN OVER THE
WEEKEND.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING AND
TONIGHT.

LILES

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 13, 6:14 PM CST, 2 hours 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
714 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0710 PM     TSTM WND DMG     PILLAGER                46.33N 94.48W
08/13/2007                   CASS               MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TWO 18-INCH DIAMETER TREES DOWNED.

&&

TLONKA

Local storm report, Aug 13, 6:26 PM CST, 1 hour 54 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
726 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0711 PM     HAIL             BRAINERD                46.35N 94.19W
08/13/2007  E0.88 INCH       CROW WING          MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            50 KNOTS WINDS ALSO REPORTED

&&

DMILLER

Local storm report, Aug 13, 6:28 PM CST, 1 hour 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
728 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0721 PM     TSTM WND GST     BRAINERD                46.35N 94.19W
08/13/2007  M61 MPH          CROW WING          MN   ASOS

&&

DMILLER

Local storm report, Aug 13, 6:53 PM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
753 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0715 PM     HAIL             10 S BRAINERD           46.21N 94.19W
08/13/2007  M1.75 INCH       CROW WING          MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            6 INCH DIAMETER OAK TREE DOWNED, HAIL COVERING GROUND.

0720 PM     HAIL             8 SW BRAINERD           46.27N 94.31W
08/13/2007  M0.75 INCH       CROW WING          MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0725 PM     HAIL             2 N BAXTER              46.37N 94.28W
08/13/2007  M0.75 INCH       CROW WING          MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TREES DOWN AT COUNTY HWY 177 AND HWY 49

0725 PM     HAIL             FORT RIPLEY             46.17N 94.36W
08/13/2007  M1.00 INCH       CROW WING          MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL IS COVERING GROUND 3 INCHES DEEP.

&&

TLONKA

Local storm report, Aug 13, 7:57 PM CST, 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
857 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0854 PM     TSTM WND GST     1 NE PINE CITY          45.84N 92.96W
08/13/2007  E60.00 MPH       PINE               MN   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

DMILLER

Local storm report, Aug 13, 8:14 PM CST, 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
914 PM CDT MON AUG 13 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0740 PM     TSTM WND DMG     GARRISON                46.30N 93.82W
08/13/2007                   CROW WING          MN   AMATEUR RADIO

            TREES DOWN

&&

DMILLER

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 123 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:21 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Burnett

When: August 13, 8:20 PM CST
Where: Burnett County, Grantsburg
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 45.780, -92.680

Estimated wind gusts up to 60 mph.

Lightning, Burnett

When: August 13, 8:20 PM CST
Where: Burnett County, Grantsburg
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 45.780, -92.680

Lightning struck a home, causing electrical damage. The lightning blew out the garage door opener, internet service, cable, telephone, router, two ethernet connections and tripped three circuits, according to the Burnett County Sentinel. The intense lightning storm also caused many small fires to break out in Burnett County, though most were under one acre in size and no property damage was reported.

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.
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 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Wisconsin, August 2007

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: 54554, 54556.