An upper level disturbance moved across southwest and central Wisconsin during the early afternoon hours on June 28th. Scattered severe thunderstorms developed and produced nickel to ping pong ball size hail.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.
An upper level disturbance moved across southwest and central Wisconsin during the early afternoon hours on June 28th. Scattered severe thunderstorms developed and produced nickel to ping pong ball size hail.
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 Jun 28, 1:45 AM CST, 9 hours 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 245 AM CDT SAT JUN 28 2008 .SHORT TERM...THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT PRIMARY FORECAST CONCERNS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH RAIN CHANCES THIS WEEKEND...ALONG WITH BRISK WINDS TODAY AND SUNDAY. EARLY MORNING ANALYSIS HAD SURFACE LOW NEAR MANITOBA/MINNESOTA BORDER...WITH COLD FRONT EXTENDING ACROSS EASTERN WI INTO NORTHWEST IL. IN THE WAKE OF FRONT...DRIER AIR FILTERING IN ON WESTERLY WINDS AS EVIDENCED BY UPSTREAM SURFACE DEW POINTS IN THE 50S. 11-3.9 MICRON SATELLITE IMAGERY AND WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWED VIGOROUS MID LEVEL CIRCULATION SITUATED NEAR DAKOTAS BORDER. RADAR MOSAIC SHOWED SCATTERED SHOWERS ACROSS DAKOTAS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE. 28.00Z NCEP AND EUROPEAN DETERMINISTIC MODELS...AS WELL AS NCEP SREF...HAD GOOD CLUSTERING OF UPPER LEVEL AND SURFACE FEATURES THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. AS A RESULT...THERE WAS OVERALL HIGH CONFIDENCE IN DETAILS OF FORECAST DATA BASE. OF SPECIAL NOTE...PROBABILISTIC DATA INDICATED THE MID LEVEL CIRCULATION TO AFFECT THE AREA TODAY WAS AROUND 2 STANDARD DEVIATIONS BELOW NORMAL WITH RESPECT TO 500MB HEIGHTS AND 850MB TEMPERATURES. TODAY INTO THE EVENING...MID LEVEL CIRCULATION DROPS SOUTHEASTWARD... TRANSITING THE FORECAST AREA DURING PEAK HEATING. THERMODYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT APPEARS TO BE A CLASSIC SETUP FOR LOW-TOP CONVECTION...AS SUPPORTED BY T-Q INDICES OF 18C. IN ADDITION...500MB TEMPERATURES OF MINUS 20C SUPPORT STEEP LOW AND MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES OF 8-9C/KM. AS A RESULT...CONVECTION ANTICIPATED TO DEVELOP BENEATH COLD POOL ALOFT...BECOMING MOST ACTIVE DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. BUFKIT FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATED A SKINNY CAPE PROFILE...WHICH SUPPORTS POTENTIAL FOR SMALL HAIL THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. DESPITE LACK OF SURFACE CONVERGENCE...500-300MB PV-ADVECTION SIGNAL SHOULD AID IN FORCING TO TRIGGER CONVECTION. IN ADDITION... ANOMALOUSLY COLD AIR ALOFT SUGGESTIVE OF POSSIBILITY FOR COLD AIR FUNNELS DURING THE AFOREMENTIONED TIME PERIOD. OVERNIGHT INTO SUNDAY...MID LEVEL CIRCULATION LIFTS ACROSS GREAT LAKES INTO SOUTHEAST CANADA. MEANWHILE...MODELS HAVE HAD A CONSISTENT SIGNAL OF SHORT WAVE DROPPING SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ON SUNDAY. THIS FEATURE WAS REFLECTED IN 500-300MB PV- ADVECTION. WITH CYCLONIC FLOW...STEEP LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND T-Q INDICES OF 16C-18C...LOW-END RAIN CHANCE APPEARS WARRANTED ON SUNDAY...AS IN CURRENT DATA BASE. DUE TO STEEP LAPSE RATES TODAY AND AGAIN SUNDAY...BRISK WINDS EXPECTED ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...ESPECIALLY WIND PRONE LOCATIONS IN SOUTHEAST MN AND NORTHEAST IOWA. NUDGED WIND GUST SPEEDS UPWARD TODAY FOR THE AFOREMENTIONED AREAS...AS WELL AS HIGH TERRAIN OF SOUTHWEST WI. .LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY PRIMARY FORECAST CONCERN WAS ASSOCIATED WITH RAIN CHANCES DURING THE MIDDLE PART OF THE WEEK. 28.00Z GFS AND ECMWF DETERMINISTIC MODELS WERE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT ON COLD FRONT DROPPING SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA ABOUT MIDWEEK. ENSEMBLE MEAN ALSO SUPPORTED THIS SOLUTION. THUS...FORECAST CONFIDENCE WAS FAIRLY HIGH THAT RAIN CHANCES WARRANTED IN THIS TIME FRAME. LOOKING TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK...CURRENT DATA BASE WAS WEIGHTED TOWARD DRY REGIME OF GFS. ON THE OTHER HAND...NCEP MREF AND 28.00Z ECMWF SUGGEST RAIN CHANCES MAY BE WARRANTED ON FRIDAY...SHOULD SURFACE FRONT LAG BACK IN CLOSER PROXIMITY TO THE FORECAST AREA. UNTIL MODEL CONSENSUS IMPROVES...NO CHANGES WERE MADE TO THIS PORTION OF THE EXTENDED OUTLOOK. && .AVIATION... DRY SLOT POST THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE HAS RESULTED IN CLEAR SKIES ACROSS A GOOD CHUNK OF THE REGION...INCLUDING KRST/KLSE. CLOUDS WILL RETURN LATER TODAY THOUGH...AS A 500 MB LOW MOVES ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY. ADD COLD AIR ALOFT AND AFTERNOON INSTABILITY TO THIS UPPER LEVEL FORCING...AND SCT -SHRA/TS WILL BE POSSIBLE...FROM LATE MORNING INTO THE EVENING. CEILINGS LOOK TO BE MOSTLY IN THE VFR RANGE...BUT A DIP INTO MVFR LOOKS POSSIBLE LATER TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION TO THE CLOUDS AND PCPN CHANCES...A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL RESULT IN GUSTY WEST WINDS THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND NIGHT. CONDITIONS FOR SUNDAY LOOK TO MIRROR TODAY. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...THOMPSON AVIATION..........RIECK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 500 AM CDT SAT JUN 28 2008 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-291000- 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- 500 AM CDT SAT JUN 28 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA... SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A VIGOROUS UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL CHURN ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY TODAY AND TONIGHT...INTERACTING WITH UNSEASONABLY COLD AIR ALOFT. WITH WEAK INSTABILITY TO TAP INTO ALSO...SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP...LASTING INTO TONIGHT. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW OF THESE STORMS TO BECOME STRONG TO POSSIBLY SEVERE FROM LATE THIS MORNING INTO THE EARLY EVENING...PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. THE MORE FAVORABLE PERIOD WOULD BE FROM 10 AM TO 7 PM. IN ADDITION...WITH ANOMALOUSLY COLD AIR ALOFT...AND THE STRONG DISTURBANCE...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR COLD AIR FUNNEL DEVELOPMENT. COLD AIR FUNNELS NORMALLY DO NOT REACH THE GROUND...AND AS A RESULT...THEY RARELY DO ANY DAMAGE AND LAST ONLY A FEW MINUTES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY...BUT SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED WITH ANY OF THIS ACTIVITY AT THIS TIME. NEXT...SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL RETURN FOR WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME...IT IS TOO EARLY TO DISCERN THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WITH THESE CHANCES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WIDESPREAD SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT...HOWEVER SOME LOCAL GROUPS MAY BE NEEDED. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO CALL IS SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME. RIECK
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 7 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:17 UTC.
19 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Law enforcement officials relayed a public report of quarter size hail on Breidel Coulee Road.
A cooperative weather observer reported half inch to penny size hail near De Soto.
Hail the size of quarters was reported, along with street flooding near Wal-Mart on the south side of La Crosse.
A NWS staff member reported hail between pea and quarter size along with wind gust to 30 miles per hour.
Penny sized hail was reported on State Road 80.
Quarter sized hail was reported near the intersection of County Road M and NN.
Penny sized hail was reported near the intersection of Highways 58 and U.S. 14.
Ham radio operators estimated ping pong ball size hail south of Tomah.
Nickel sized hail was covering the ground.
Pea to penny sized hail covered the ground near Oakdale.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, June 2008
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: 98781, 98785, 98788, 98790, 98791, 98792, 98796, 98798, 98799, 98803, 98804, 98806, 98807, 98809, 98813, 98815, 98817, 98819, 98820.