Hail, Grant
- When
- April 3, 6:55 PM CST
- Where
- Grant County, 1.75 mi ENE of Tennyson
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 42.691, -90.649
Hail in Wisconsin, April 3, 2011
A low pressure system moved across southern Wisconsin during the evening hours of April 3rd. Severe thunderstorms developed over eastern Iowa and tracked northeast into extreme southwest Wisconsin.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 ARX wrote it up.
A low pressure system moved across southern Wisconsin during the evening hours of April 3rd. Severe thunderstorms developed over eastern Iowa and tracked northeast into extreme southwest Wisconsin. The thunderstorms produced large hail ranging from nickel size near Platteville (Grant County) to golf ball size west of Hazel Green (Grant County).
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 3, 2:16 PM CST, 4 hours 39 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 2:16 PM CST, 4 hours 39 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 316 PM CDT SUN APR 3 2011 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MAIN FORECAST CONCERN IS THUNDERSTORM CHANCES TONIGHT AND THEN WINDS FROM TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. 18Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS LOW PRESSURE CENTERED OVER IOWA...WITH A WARM FRONT EXTENDING EAST INTO SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN. WARM SECTOR DEW POINTS WERE IN THE MIDDLE 50S TO AROUND 60 IN SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL IOWA. QUITE A TEMPERATURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...WITH 36 DEGREES IN MEDFORD WISCONSIN...TO 72 IN OELWEIN IOWA. SPC MESO-ANALYSIS PAGE SHOWS MIXED LAYER CAPES IN THE 1000-1500 J/KG RANGE ACROSS SOUTHERN IOWA...BUT SURFACE BASED CIN STILL 200-300 J/KG. 03.12Z MODELS OVERALL IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD WITH JUST MINOR DIFFERENCES IN THE LATER PERIODS. IN THE NEAR TERM...EXPECTING CONVECTION IN THE WARM SECTOR TO DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AS CAP WEAKENS. 03.12Z SPCWRF A LITTLE SLOWER WITH CONVECTION DEVELOPING BETWEEN 01Z-03Z THIS EVENING...INITIALLY OVER SOUTHEAST IOWA THEN BUILDING NORTHEAST INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN. THIS CONSISTENT WITH THE 03.16Z HRRR. THUS EXPECTING THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT TO REMAIN SOUTH AND EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA. HOWEVER...03.18Z RUC SHOWING MOST UNSTABLE CAPES OF 1000J/KG TO 2000 J/KG ACROSS SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN AND SMALL PART OF NORTHEAST IOWA...MAINLY FROM 00Z-04Z THIS EVENING. HOWEVER... RUC SOUNDINGS SHOWING CAP IN PLACE ACROSS THIS AREA. IF CAP CAN ERODE WITH APPROACH OF SHORTWAVE SOME SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THAT REGION...BUT CONFIDENCE NOT HIGH IN THIS SCENARIO. COLD FRONT THEN LOOKS TO SWEEP THROUGH LATER THIS EVENING WHICH MAY PRODUCE SOME LIGHT SHOWERS OR EVEN SNOW SHOWERS AND THIS COVERED BY MID RANGE PROBABILITIES TONIGHT. NEXT QUESTION IS THE STRONG WIND POTENTIAL. GRADIENT TIGHTENS IN WAKE OF THE LOW AS IT PULLS INTO LOWER MICHIGAN TONIGHT. WINDS REALLY BEGIN TO INCREASE AROUND 12Z MONDAY ACROSS THE WEST...BUT BUFKIT LAPSE RATES NOT ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE. LOOKS LIKE BORDERLINE ADVISORY LATE TONIGHT AND THUS AM HOLDING OFF WITH ANY WIND ADVISORY AT THIS TIME. ON MONDAY...SURFACE TO 800MB LAPSE RATES INCREASE TO 9 CELSIUS PER KILOMETER...WITH MIXING HEIGHTS TO JUST ABOVE 800MB. BUFKIT SOUNDINGS SHOWING 35 TO 40 KNOT WINDS AT THE TOP OF THE MIXED LAYER. SO FEEL BETTER CHANCES FOR HITTING ADVISORY CRITERIA WILL BE MONDAY AFTERNOON. WILL ALLOW NEXT SHIFT TO ANALYZE THE LATEST DATA FOR POSSIBLE HEADLINES. MEANWHILE...500MB TROUGH CROSSES THE FORECAST AREA AND WRAP AROUND MOISTURE ALONG WITH COLD ADVECTION AND CYCLONIC FLOW WILL MAKE FOR A RAW DAY. EXPECT SOME SCATTERED RAIN OR SNOW SHOWERS WITHIN THE WRAP AROUND MOISTURE. THIS COVERED WITH MID RANGE PROBABILITIES FOR NOW. RIDGING BUILDS IN MONDAY NIGHT. MODELS CONSISTENT IN SHOWING A CLEARING TREND FROM WEST TO EAST THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. WITH THE LIGHTER WINDS AND CLEARING SKIES...TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO THE MIDDLE AND UPPER 20S FOR MORNING LOWS. THE QUIET WEATHER WILL BE BRIEF AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROUGH TRANSLATES THROUGH THE FLOW ON TUESDAY. THIS WILL BRING RAIN CHANCES BACK INTO THE FORECAST FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AS THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT TRAVERSES THE AREA. COLD BE SOME SNOW MIXED IN ACROSS THE FAR NORTH TUESDAY NIGHT/EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MEDIUM RANGE MODELS STILL INDICATING A RATHER ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN IN THIS TIME FRAME. FLOW INITIALLY OUT OF THE NORTHWEST TRANSITIONS TO A SOUTHWEST FLOW AS A TROUGH DIGS ACROSS THE EASTERN CONUS. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT IN DEVELOPING SURFACE LOW AHEAD OF THE TROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY AND ADVANCING IT TO THE NORTHEAST TOWARD THE AREA. MOISTURE TRANSPORT INCREASES OUT AHEAD OF IT WITH RAIN CHANCES INCREASING. DID ADD MENTION OF THUNDER FOR THURSDAY NIGHT WITH BEST SURGE OF MOISTURE. ANOTHER SYSTEM LOOKS TO AFFECT THE AREA LATE IN THE WEEKEND. AS FOR TEMPERATURES THEY LOOK TO BE NEAR OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMALS THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .AVIATION...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY VFR CEILINGS WILL CONTINUE TO BE FOUND AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE MVFR CEILINGS ARE CURRENTLY LOCATED ABOUT TWO HOURS AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...BUT THE COMPUTER MODELS ARE INSISTENT THAT THESE CLOUDS WILL RAPIDLY CATCH UP TO THE COLD FRONT DURING THE EVENING. THE COLD FRONT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH KRST AROUND 0323Z AND THE MVFR CEILINGS SHOULD ARRIVE AROUND 0401Z. MEANWHILE AT KLSE...THE COLD FRONT SHOULD MOVE THROUGH AROUND 04.01Z AND MVFR CEILINGS WILL ARRIVE AROUND 04.03Z. AS A SHORT WAVE TROUGH APPROACHES THE AREA TONIGHT...A BAND OF SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION. THESE SHOULD MOVE INTO KRST AROUND 04.03Z AND KLSE AROUND 04.06Z. IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM LATE TONIGHT...SUBSIDENCE WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA. IN ADDITION...THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL BE TIGHTENING ACROSS THE AREA. SUSTAINED NORTHWEST WINDS WILL BE IN THE 20 TO 25 KNOT RANGE FOR MUCH OF MONDAY. WIND GUSTS WILL LIKELY RANGE FROM 25 TO 35 KNOTS. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...RABERDING AVIATION...BOYNE
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 3, 10:06 AM CST, 8 hours 49 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 1106 AM CDT SUN APR 3 2011 IAZ011-029-030-WIZ054-055-061-041100- ALLAMAKEE-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-FAYETTE-GRANT-RICHLAND- 1106 AM CDT SUN APR 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF NORTHEAST IOWA AND SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING ACROSS SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN AND NORTHEAST IOWA. WHILE THE MAIN SEVERE WEATHER THREAT LOOKS TO BE ACROSS EASTERN IOWA... NORTHERN ILLINOIS...AND SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS IN NORTHEAST IOWA AND SOUTHWEST WISCONSIN MAY BECOME SEVERE BETWEEN 5 PM AND 8 PM...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREATS. HOWEVER AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE COMPLETELY RULED OUT. MINOR FLOODING WILL REMAIN A CONCERN ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WHERE WATER LEVELS CONTINUE TO SLOWLY RISE TOWARD OR FURTHER ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON MONDAY. PLAN ON NORTHWEST WINDS BETWEEN 25 AND 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. THE HIGHEST GUSTS WILL OCCUR ACROSS SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA. FLOODING ALONG RIVERS AND STREAMS WILL REMAIN A CONCERN...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. WATER LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY RISE TOWARD OR FURTHER ABOVE FLOOD STAGE THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI. THOSE WITH INTERESTS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST RIVER STATEMENTS AND FLOOD FORECASTS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BETWEEN 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON AND 8 PM THIS EVENING. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED. IAZ008>010-018-019-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034-041>044- 053-041100- ADAMS-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-DODGE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-HOUSTON-HOWARD- JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE-MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-TAYLOR- TREMPEALEAU-VERNON-WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 1106 AM CDT SUN APR 3 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...NORTHEAST IOWA AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT MINOR FLOODING WILL REMAIN A CONCERN ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WHERE WATER LEVELS CONTINUE TO SLOWLY RISE TOWARD OR FURTHER ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED ON MONDAY. PLAN ON NORTHWEST WINDS BETWEEN 25 AND 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. THE HIGHEST GUSTS WILL OCCUR ACROSS SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST IOWA. FLOODING ALONG RIVERS AND STREAMS WILL REMAIN A CONCERN...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. WATER LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY RISE TOWARD OR FURTHER ABOVE FLOOD STAGE THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI. THOSE WITH INTERESTS ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST RIVER STATEMENTS AND FLOOD FORECASTS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED. BOYNE
The radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 120 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:56 UTC.
Event by event
4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Grant
- When
- April 3, 7:05 PM CST
- Where
- Grant County, 2.16 mi WNW of Platteville
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 42.741, -90.520
Nickel to quarter size hail fell from just west of Platteville into the city itself.
Hail, Grant
- When
- April 3, 7:11 PM CST
- Where
- Grant County, 0.61 mi WNW of Sinsinawa
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 42.524, -90.541
Quarter size hail fell in Sinsinawa.
Hail, Grant
- When
- April 3, 7:23 PM CST
- Where
- Grant County, 2.07 mi SW of Fairplay
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 42.512, -90.603
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in North Dakota, April 3 to 30, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, April 3, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, April 3 to 4, 2011
- Flooding in Minnesota, April 3 to 30, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, April 3, 2011
- Strong Wind in Texas, April 3, 2011
- Strong Wind in Arkansas, April 3 to 4, 2011
- Wildfire in Oklahoma, April 3, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 3, 2011
- Wildfire and High Wind in Texas, April 3 to 4, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 3, 2011
- Hail in Illinois, April 3, 2011
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 2011
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: 294061, 294063, 294064, 294065.