Lightning from thunderstorms on June 15th caused a garage fire northeast of Sparta (Monroe County). The fire caused extensive damage to the garage and minor damage to the adjacent house.
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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.
Lightning from thunderstorms on June 15th caused a garage fire northeast of Sparta (Monroe County). The fire caused extensive damage to the garage and minor damage to the adjacent house.
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 14, 8:35 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 935 PM CDT TUE JUN 14 2011 .UPDATE...THE OVERNIGHT AND MORNING HOURS. HAVE BEEN MONITORING ONGOING CONVECTION OVER SERN MN THIS EVENING /AND REST OF REGION/. THIS IS THE SOUTHERN EXTENT OF A STRONG SHORTWAVE TROUGH NORTHWEST OF KMSP /TWINS RAIN OUT/. THIS SOUTHERN EXTENT HAS A COLD POOL OF ABOUT 10-12F AND SOME ELEVATED INSTABILITY IN THE 500MB AND ABOVE LAYER...WITH 500 J/KG OR LESS MUCAPE. LOW-LEVEL PROFILES SHOWING NICE CONFLUENCE OF THE MOISTURE STREAM RIDING NORTH...ISENTROPICALLY RISING FROM SURFACE WARM SECTOR OVER MO...INTO THE AREA. THIS AIR STREAM IS AHEAD OF THE TROUGH ALIGNED ALONG THE DAKOTAS BORDER TO IA/NEB BORDER. AS THIS ALL SHIFTS EAST OVERNIGHT...THE AREA CONTINUES SEE THE INCREASE IN MOISTURE AND LOW INSTABILITY...WHILE UNDER ISENTROPIC LIFT PER 300K SURFACE IN THE RUC. SO...THE INGREDIENTS ARE THERE FOR THE CHANCES OF RAIN TO INCREASE AS THE FORECAST SUGGESTED. HOWEVER...HAVE SLOWED THE TIMING AND INCREASED THE RAIN CHANCES WEDNESDAY MORNING ALL AREAS...BUT BELIEVE A NICE BAND OF 4-5 COUNTY WIDE BAND OF SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDER WILL BE CENTERED ON THE MISS RIVER AROUND DAWN. THUNDER CHANCES SHOULD BE HIGHEST FURTHER SOUTH TOWARD THE INSTABILITY SOURCE. OVERALL THE HRRR AND THE RUC HAVE NOT BEEN OF USE THIS EVENING...MUCH TOO DRY. WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP CURRENT FLAVOR OF FORECAST GOING. MOST AREAS SHOULD PICK UP AT LEAST 0.25 INCHES FROM THIS SYSTEM...BY MORE LIKELY. KAUM HAS SEEN 0.85 SO FAR. HOWEVER... WEATHER WILL BE MORE IN WAVES AND AREAS OF RAIN THAN A CONTINUOUS BAND. && .AVIATION...HAVE UPDATED THE TAFS TO ACCOUNT FOR MORE THUNDER IN THE EVENING HOURS TONIGHT. HOWEVER...INSTABILITY WILL BE IN PLACE ALOFT TO PRODUCE SOME TSRA OVERNIGHT AND INTO THE MORNING. WITH TSRA TARGETS TOUGH TO DETERMINE...HAVE HANDLED THIS WITH CB IN THE TAFS. BELIEVE THE SHOWERS AND RAIN WILL BE AROUND FOR SEVERAL HOURS INTO THE MORNING HOURS AND HAVE THUS EXTENDED THIS INTO WEDNESDAY. OVERALL A DIFFICULT FORECAST TO PROVIDE GREAT DETAIL ON...BUT ASIDE FROM TSRA...LOW CIGS/VSBYS SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && BAUMGARDT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 436 AM CDT TUE JUN 14 2011 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ032>034-041-042- 053>055-061-151200- ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE-FAYETTE-FILLMORE- FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-LA CROSSE-MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER- OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON-WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 436 AM CDT TUE JUN 14 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA... NORTHEAST IOWA...AND SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY OVER NORTHEAST IOWA. LIGHTNING AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN WOULD BE THE MAIN HAZARDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ON WEDNESDAY AND ALONG AND EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED WITH THESE STORMS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SEVERE WEATHER DURING THIS PERIOD...BUT IT IS TOO EARLY TO DISCERN WHEN OR WHAT TYPES OF SEVERE WEATHER COULD OCCUR. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH FRIDAY. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED. WIZ017-029-043-044-151200- ADAMS-CLARK-JUNEAU-TAYLOR- 436 AM CDT TUE JUN 14 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. LIGHTNING WOULD BE THE MAIN HAZARD. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ON WEDNESDAY AND ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED WITH THESE STORMS. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SEVERE WEATHER DURING THIS PERIOD... BUT IT IS TOO EARLY TO DISCERN WHEN OR WHAT TYPES OF SEVERE WEATHER COULD OCCUR. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH FRIDAY. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED. AJ
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 38 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:04 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike from a thunderstorm caused a garage fire. The fire caused extensive damage to the garage and its contents, although no vehicles were in the garage at the time of the fire. The heat was so intense from the fire that it warped the siding on the adjacent house.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, June 2011
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: 318266.