Chippewa Falls fire crews reported a lightning strike caused $60,000 worth of damage to a home in the Town of Lafayette, Monday afternoon. No one was hurt in that fire, but the home did suffer fire, smoke and heat damage.
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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 MPX wrote it up.
Chippewa Falls fire crews reported a lightning strike caused $60,000 worth of damage to a home in the Town of Lafayette, Monday afternoon. No one was hurt in that fire, but the home did suffer fire, smoke and heat damage.
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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 15, 1:12 PM CST, 18 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 212 PM CDT Mon May 15 2017 .UPDATE... Issued at 132 PM CDT Mon May 15 2017 Updated to include 18z aviation discussion below. && .SHORT TERM...(Today and tonight) Issued at 352 AM CDT Mon May 15 2017 All severe weather aspects are possible in the next 24 hours as several weak shortwaves move eastward across the Upper Midwest and interact with a surface boundary in southern Minnesota. First, a surface front was located from near Redwood Falls, northeast to the northern part of the Twin Cities metro area, and into northern Wisconsin. Surface observations indicated a weak circulation near Redwood Falls which has allowed for winds to back across south central/southeast Minnesota overnight. This front and the interaction of convection moving into southern Minnesota this morning, will impact how severe weather parameters evolve during the afternoon. Secondly, both the RAP/HRRR have been tracking the complex of storms across northern Nebraska, southern South Dakota into southwest Minnesota during the morning. There have been differences in timing as the storms continued to move into southern Minnesota by mid/late morning. This is more associated with instability parameters that are initially weak, but increase significantly by mid/late morning in south central Minnesota. Dew points in the low 60s were noted in southern Iowa which is the source region of increasing instability and associated expansion of storms in southern Minnesota by late morning. Depending upon how long these storms continue to fire in the warm and unstable air mass in southern Minnesota early this afternoon, or if the storms move quickly eastward out of Minnesota, will determine the severe weather aspects this afternoon. As stated before, all severe weather aspects are possible later today/tonight as the evolution of convection evolves over the Upper Midwest. These severe weather parameters include large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes and heavy rainfall. Latest SPC day 1 outlook supports a slight risk of severe thunderstorms in southern Minnesota. I would not be surprised to see this outlook change to an enhanced risk if we destabilize further in the afternoon/early evening. This is especially true near the warm front which is progged to be in southern Minnesota this afternoon. This frontal boundary location will be critical this afternoon in terms of where storms develop and interact. Wind shear values and lapse rates /700-500mb/ near 8C this afternoon also support large hail. In addition, lowering LCLs along the frontal boundary and 0-3km helicity values above 150 m2/s2 near the front support the formation of tornadoes if other aspects in the boundary layer occur. The evolution of the storms will likely become more elevated by mid/late evening as the main severe weather threat becomes large hail and heavy rainfall as storms begin to train along this frontal boundary. Today's weather has all the elements of a severe weather outbreak if conditions warrant. Please stay tuned on later forecast, the SPC outlook and how morning convection evolves during the afternoon. .LONG TERM...(Tuesday through Sunday) Issued at 352 AM CDT Mon May 15 2017 Tuesday morning the warm front will be situated over the heart of MN/WI. There could be some nocturnally-driven elevated activity ongoing at daybreak with a continued small threat for hail, but that should quickly diminish with the next threat for re- development not occurring until the late afternoon (west) and evening as the associated cold front works eastward across the forecast area. Prior to the redevelopment, H9-H7 temperatures look to increase to around +20C, which would translate to highs in the mid 80s to lower 90s in the warm sector over central/southern MN. Eventually the height falls associated with the eastward advancement of the western trough should help to combat the CAP as the front approaches central MN during the late afternoon. The threat for severe storms looks to lie along/ahead of the front, or roughly from southern across east central MN into west central WI. Increasing shear and relatively steep lapse rates will bring the threat for large hail, and damaging winds as well if the storms can become surface-based. Wednesday the boundary will be bisecting the forecast area from southwest MN toward Lake Superior. Although a small threat for severe weather will remain, expect the primary threat to transition to heavy rainfall as deformation rains occur and precipitable water values hover around 1.5". Right now it appears a good portion of the area could see 1-1.5" amounts in a six to nine hour period on Wednesday afternoon/eve. This additional rainfall in combination with rain that falls in the days prior could mean 2-4" totals for locations stretching from southwest to east central MN and west central WI over the 3-day period (Mon/Tue/Wed). We dry out for Thursday and Friday (for the most part), but then the second trough lifts out of the Four Corners region and renews precipitation chances for the weekend. The warm sector will have shifted southeast of the area, which will mean highs in the mid/upper 50s to lower 60s and less of a threat for severe weather. However, the additional rainfall over the weekend could further exacerbate any hydrologic issues that develop through the week, with totals through the weekend nearing 4-6". && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday afternoon) Issued at 202 PM CDT Mon May 15 2017 Tricky solution today with the rain/thunderstorm complex moving across the area a little ahead of schedule compared to previous model runs. During and in the immediate wake of the precipitation, winds have shifted to NW and are expected to go NE and E as the afternoon progresses into the evening. The next round of convection looks to come overnight, mainly after 03z but closer to 06z-12z and from south to north. Until then, a period of dry VFR conditions is expected with mid-level ceilings. During and after the precipitation early Tuesday morning, MVFR ceilings are expected. Visibility during the precipitation may drop to IFR but that is expected to be of short-duration and sporadic in location. KMSP...Showers/thunderstorms at initialization look to exit the MSP terminal around 1930z then conditions look to remain dry through the rest of the afternoon. Some pop-up showers may try to drift around the area during the latter portion of the afternoon push but another more developed round of thunderstorms looks to come during the early morning hours, between 06z-12z. Ceilings will likely drop to MVFR with this next round and visibilities likely to MVFR but potentially to IFR should heavier showers move across the airport. Small hail and short-duration wind shifts may again accompany the thunderstorms. There will again be a break in the action from daybreak into early afternoon before rain returns Tuesday afternoon/evening which may impact tomorrow's evening push. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ Wed...Mainly VFR. SHRA/TSRA expected. Occasional MVFR/IFR In SHRA/TSRA. Wind SE 5-10 kts. Thu...Mainly VFR. Chc MVFR/-SHRA in the morning. Winds N 10-15 kts. Fri...Mainly VFR. Chance SHRA/TSRA with MVFR. Winds NE 5-10 kts. && .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. && UPDATE...JPC SHORT TERM...JLT LONG TERM...LS AVIATION...JPC
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 1138 AM CDT Mon May 15 2017 MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028- 161645- Douglas-Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Kanabec-Stevens-Pope-Stearns- Benton-Sherburne-Isanti-Chisago-Lac Qui Parle-Swift-Chippewa- Kandiyohi-Meeker-Wright-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington- Yellow Medicine-Renville-McLeod-Sibley-Carver-Scott-Dakota- Redwood-Brown-Nicollet-Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-Watonwan-Blue Earth- Waseca-Steele-Martin-Faribault-Freeborn-Polk-Barron-Rusk- St. Croix-Pierce-Dunn-Pepin-Eau Claire- 1138 AM CDT Mon May 15 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central and southern Minnesota...and west central Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Thunderstorms will continue to develop through this afternoon then push off to the east early this evening. Another round of thunderstorms is expected during the early morning hours, possibly into daybreak Tuesday. Severe thunderstorms will be possible, mainly over southern Minnesota this afternoon and evening, then across central and southern Minnesota into western Wisconsin overnight. Large hail and damaging winds are the primary hazards but an isolated tornado may also develop. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Several rounds of thunderstorms are expected Tuesday through Wednesday. Some thunderstorms may be severe Tuesday through Wednesday. Heavy rainfall is also possible along with flash flooding. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN spotter activation may be needed this afternoon into early evening and again overnight tonight.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
121 PM CDT MON MAY 15 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1255 PM HAIL BUFFALO 45.18N 93.88W
05/15/2017 E0.25 INCH WRIGHT MN TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
JPCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
122 PM CDT MON MAY 15 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0105 PM HAIL 5 SW MONTICELLO 45.25N 93.86W
05/15/2017 E0.50 INCH WRIGHT MN TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
JPCThe La Crosse radar (KARX), 122 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:27 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Chippewa Falls fire crews said that a lightning strike caused $60,000 worth of damage to a home in the Town of Lafayette Monday afternoon.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, May 2017
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: 702126.