Lightning struck two separate buildings on the same day in Sparta, one of which incurred extensive damage to electrical equipment inside.
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The episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.
Lightning struck two separate buildings on the same day in Sparta, one of which incurred extensive damage to electrical equipment inside.
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 28, 2:06 AM CST, 8 hours 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 306 AM CDT WED MAR 28 2007 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS ARE PRECIPITATION CHANCES THROUGH PERIOD. LATEST WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATING UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST U.S. AND SHORTWAVE TROUGH EMBEDDED IN SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MIDWEST. THIS SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS ALLOWING FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AND TRACK ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE UPPER MIDWEST AND PARTS OF CENTRAL PLAINS PER LATEST 0.5 DEGREE MOSAIC RADAR. LATEST 00Z WEDNESDAY NAM AND GFS INITIALIZED UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST AND SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MIDWEST WELL. BOTH MODELS ARE IN DECENT AGREEMENT THRU 12Z THURSDAY WITH OVERALL UPPER LEVEL PATTERN. THEN...SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES ARE INDICATED BETWEEN BOTH THE MODELS...ESPECIALLY THURSDAY NIGHT AND INTO FRIDAY. 00Z WEDNESDAY GFS SLOWER MOVING SURFACE/UPPER LEVEL FEATURES INTO WESTERN MINNESOTA BY 18Z THAN NAM. CURRENT OVERALL UPPER LEVEL PATTERN SUGGEST A SLOWER MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER LEVEL/SURFACE FEATURES INTO THE CENTRAL U.S. WILL LEAN MORE TOWARD A SLOWER GFS SOLUTION THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. CONFIDENCE IN FORECAST THROUGH THURSDAY IS MODERATE AND LOW FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN TIMING OF UPPER LEVEL/SURFACE FEATURES. TODAY...WEAK SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND MIDWEST WILL LIFT NORTHEAST INTO NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND MUCH OF WISCONSIN. BOTH THE 00Z WEDNESDAY GFS AND NAM IN VERY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THIS AND INDICATE THE BEST 850MB MOISTURE TRANSPORT AND CONVERGENCE OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. HAVE ADJUSTED PRECIPITATION CHANCES TO THE LIKELY CATEGORY OVER THE NORTHERN HALF AND CHANCES OVER SOUTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA. BOTH MODELS IN AGREEMENT IN AMPLIFYING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE CENTRAL U.S. TONIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY. NAM SLIGHTLY FASTER WITH RETURN SOUTHERLY FLOW THAN GFS THURSDAY. WITH UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND BEST MOISTURE AND LIFT OVER THE EASTERN DAKOTAS AND WESTERN MINNESOTA. HAVE REDUCED PRECIPITATION CHANCES ACROSS FORECAST AREA AND PLACED SMALL CHANCES OVER WESTERN HALF OF FORECAST AREA. THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...UPPER LEVEL LOW REMAINS NEARLY CUTOFF OVER THE LEE SIDE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. GFS SLOWER IN MOVEMENT OF UPPER LEVEL LOW INTO THE HIGH PLAINS THAN NAM. FEEL NAM TO BE TOO AGGRESSIVE IN MOVING OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW THROUGH THE RIDGE AND WILL FOLLOW THE SLOWER GFS SOLUTION. THIS WOULD ALLOW FOR BETTER CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION WEST OF FORECAST AREA THURSDAY NIGHT AND HAVE ADJUSTED GRIDS FOR THIS. 00Z WEDNESDAY GFS INDICATES STRONG MOISTURE TRANSPORT AT 850MB AND VERTICAL MOTION PER TIME HEIGHT CROSS SECTIONS BY 12Z FRIDAY OVER FORECAST AREA. PREVIOUS FORECAST HAS GOOD HANDLE FOR THIS TIME PERIOD. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS ARE PRECIPITATION CHANCES EARLY IN THE PERIOD AND LATE IN THE PERIOD. LATEST 00Z WEDNESDAY GFS AND ECMWF INDICATING WEST TO EAST ZONAL FLOW ALOFT TRANSITIONING INTO NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST. BOTH MODELS INDICATE DIFFERENCES IN THE MOVEMENT AND STRENGTH OF UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION AND UPPER MIDWEST LATE IN THE PERIOD. AT THIS TIME...WILL MAKE NO CHANGES THRU FORECAST PERIOD. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && DTJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 516 AM CDT WED MAR 28 2007 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-291100- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE- MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 516 AM CDT WED MAR 28 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO AND ACROSS THE AREA TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. THIS WILL CONTINUE THE SCATTERED SHOWER AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. DUE TO LIMITED INSTABILITY IN THE ATMOSPHERE...ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DO DEVELOP ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LIMITS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL DIMINISH THURSDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND GREAT LAKES REGION. HOWEVER...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE ON THE INCREASE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE APPROACHES THE AREA FROM THE PLAINS. IT APPEARS AT THIS POINT THAT THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LIMITS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME. DAS
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 32 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:40 UTC.
2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck the roof of the Museum Complex Building in Sparta, which damaged some electrical equipment inside.
Lightning struck for the second time in Sparta, this time hitting the Land Conservation Building. Extensive damage occurred to the phone system, computers, printers and copiers.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, March 2007
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: 15610, 20142.