A few strong to marginally severe thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon hours of the 28th across northwest Wisconsin. An area of stronger instability was in place across Burnett County and a few of the storms there produced minor wind damage to trees along with some quarter-sized 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 DLH wrote it up.
A few strong to marginally severe thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon hours of the 28th across northwest Wisconsin. An area of stronger instability was in place across Burnett County and a few of the storms there produced minor wind damage to trees along with some quarter-sized 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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 28, 5:35 PM CST, 5 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Duluth MN 635 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023 .DISCUSSION...(This evening through Sunday) Issued at 307 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023 Key Messages: 1. Scattered showers and storms the rest of this afternoon through tonight. A few stronger storms capable of producing small hail and gusty winds may be possible into this evening. 2. Mainly dry weather is expected this week, with the exception of a chance (20-40%) of showers/storms Thursday evening into Friday morning. 3. Turning hot again late this week into the weekend. Today - Tonight: Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms have begun developing from the Brainerd Lakes Lakes up into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in the vicinity of a southeastward advancing cold front this afternoon. Warm advection ahead of the front has brought in 300-800 J/kg of MLCAPE, with 30-40 knots of effective bulk shear along and ahead of the cold front. Some higher-level clouds and poorer mid-level lapse rates (<6C/km) should keep storms sub-severe this afternoon and evening. Low-level lapse rates of 7.5-8.5C/km are a bit better, however. Taking all of these factors into consideration, a few strong storms are possible and could be capable of small hail and sub-severe gusty winds. The best thunderstorm coverage as we get into the later part of the afternoon and evening remains across the Minnesota Arrowhead into NW Wisconsin where the left exit region of the upper-level jet will support the most synoptic-scale lift. This round of storms should exit southeast of our NW Wisconsin counties later this evening as the cold front moves out of our area. Given the scattered nature of the storms today, many areas will see little to no rain. HREF guidance does paint the potential for anywhere that does see thunderstorms move overhead to pick up a quick 0.25-0.75", with the highest of these amounts in the Minnesota Arrowhead and NW Wisconsin, but these higher rainfall amounts will be on a localized basis. Some post-frontal light showers should linger tonight into Tuesday morning, primarily over northern and northeastern Minnesota, as the main axis of the upper-level trough dives southeast across the Northland. Additional rainfall tonight into Thursday morning should be light, on the order of a tenth of an inch or less. Some areas of fog will be possible again tonight in locations that can see some partial clearing tonight, given light winds and lingering low-level moisture. Best fog potential would be in the Iron Range and across portions of NW Wisconsin, as well as any locations that receive rainfall. Tuesday: NW flow aloft and at the surface will advect slightly cooler weather into the Northland for Tuesday. The HRRR and RAP smoke models also point to some smoke (mainly aloft) moving over the region, which should result in some milky skies. Have increased the sky cover forecast to account for this. Onshore flow off of Lake Superior should keep temperatures slightly cooler, ranging from the mid-60s in nearshore areas to the mid-70s over the Brainerd Lakes into the St. Croix River Valley. The coldest temperatures of the week are expected Tuesday night as skies clear out, with some upper-30s to potentially mid-30s in spots across north-central Wisconsin for lows. Will need to continue to monitor forecast trends closely for some limited frost potential Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. Wednesday - Thursday: An upper-level ridge will build into the Upper Midwest for the middle of this week, leading to dry weather for Wednesday and most of Thursday. We will also see the start of a gradual warming trend with highs in the 70s on Wednesday and mid-70s to low-80s on Thursday. Winds turn very breezy out of the south beginning on Thursday as the surface pressure gradient increases ahead of an approaching upper-level trough and associated surface front late Thursday into Friday. Thursday PM - Friday: Another chance for some showers and storms return to the Northland sometime Thursday afternoon/evening into Friday morning as another upper-low opens up into a trough as it cuts eastward across far southern Manitoba into NW Ontario. Precipitation chances remain around 20-40% with this system given the better synoptic lift is currently forecast to remain north of the international border. Otherwise, winds remain gusty into Friday, with temperatures climbing into the low- to mid-80s for most of the Northland. Labor Day Weekend: A stronger axis of the upper-level ridge moves into the central U.S. this weekend into the very early portion of next week, bringing a return of hot, summer-like conditions with it. High temperatures should climb well into the 80s from Saturday-Monday, while some low-90s cannot be ruled out on Sunday and Monday across our central MN into southern tier of NW Wisconsin counties. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Tuesday evening) Issued at 635 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023 Scattered showers and storms are moving southeast across the Northland this evening. This activity will quickly end over the next few hours leaving the region with VFR conditions by late evening. There is potential for fog to develop tonight. The better chances will be across HIB and INL. Any fog that does develop will erode after sunrise leaving the region in VFR conditions once again. && .MARINE... Issued at 322 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023 Predominately southwest winds around 5 to 10 kt the remainder of this afternoon will shift to northwesterly this evening and northerly tonight behind a cold front. Some scattered showers and storms remain possible over the Lake from this afternoon into evening before moving southeast of the area tonight. Could see some lingering light showers over western Lake Superior tonight into early Tuesday morning, but chances are only around 20 percent or less. Winds turn east to northeast for Tuesday, which could lead to some localized gusty winds up to 15 to 20 kt during the daytime on Tuesday, particularly for the outer Apostle Islands into Saxon Harbor. This could result in wind-driven waves up to around 3 ft as well for those locations. Winds and waves weaken Tuesday night, with winds then shifting to southerly by Wednesday as surface high pressure moves to our east. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DLH 55 69 49 75 / 30 20 0 0 INL 51 69 46 76 / 20 10 0 0 BRD 54 78 52 78 / 0 10 0 0 HYR 55 70 44 75 / 30 10 0 0 ASX 57 65 44 76 / 40 20 0 0 && .DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. LS...None. && DISCUSSION...Rothstein AVIATION...Britt MARINE...Rothstein
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Duluth MN 319 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023 MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-292030- Koochiching-North St. Louis-Northern Cook/Northern Lake- North Itasca-Central St. Louis-Southern Lake/North Shore- Southern Cook/North Shore-North Cass-South Itasca-South Cass- Crow Wing-Northern Aitkin-South Aitkin-Carlton/South St. Louis- Pine-Douglas-Bayfield-Ashland-Iron-Burnett-Washburn-Sawyer-Price- 319 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and Tonight Isolated showers and strong storms are possible today. No severe storms are expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Some patchy dense fog is possible Tuesday morning. There is a chance for storms late Thursday though no severe storms are expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Skywarn spotters are encouraged to report hail of any size and rainfall amounts to the National Weather Service. LSZ121-140>148-150-292030- Bayfield to Oak Point WI-Grand Portage to Grand Marais MN- Grand Marais to Taconite Harbor MN- Taconite Harbor to Silver Bay Harbor MN- Silver Bay Harbor to Two Harbors MN-Two Harbors to Duluth MN- Duluth MN to Port Wing WI-Port Wing to Sand Island WI- Sand Island to Bayfield WI-Oak Point to Saxon Harbor WI- Outer Apostle Islands Beyond 5 NM from Mainland- 319 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Lake Superior and the Nearshore waters of western Lake Superior. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and Tonight Thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Thunderstorms are possible late Thursday. Strong southerly winds with gusts up to 25 knots are possible Thursday and Friday. Levens More information may be obtained at the following web address: http://www.weather.gov/duluth
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Duluth MN
444 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
MNZ038-WIZ001-002-006-282215-
Pine MN-Douglas WI-Bayfield WI-Burnett WI-
444 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF NORTHEASTERN PINE,
WEST CENTRAL BAYFIELD, DOUGLAS AND NORTHEASTERN BURNETT COUNTIES
THROUGH 515 PM CDT...
At 443 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from near Poplar, to 10 miles west of Hawthorne, to
7 miles south of Holyoke, moving southeast at 25 mph.
HAZARD...Winds gusts up to 30 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow unsecured
objects around. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Strong thunderstorms will be near...
Hawthorne and Poplar around 450 PM CDT.
Maple around 455 PM CDT.
Other locations in the path of these storms include Lake Nebagamon,
Brule, Solon Springs and Dairyland.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Anyone outdoors, including anyone on or in the water, should seek
shelter inside a sturdy building or hard topped vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 4640 9248 4642 9243 4642 9230 4648 9229
4655 9212 4671 9190 4661 9133 4629 9173
4609 9230
TIME...MOT...LOC 2143Z 304DEG 20KT 4661 9182 4646 9206 4636 9237
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
UnruhSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Duluth MN
520 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
WIZ002-282245-
Bayfield WI-
520 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
BAYFIELD COUNTY THROUGH 545 PM CDT...
At 519 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Oulu, or 31 miles east of Superior, moving east at 25 mph.
HAZARD...Winds gusts up to 30 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow unsecured
objects around. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
This strong thunderstorm will be near...
Iron River around 525 PM CDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Anyone outdoors, including anyone on or in the water, should seek
shelter inside a sturdy building or hard topped vehicle.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive through flood waters.
&&
LAT...LON 4651 9121 4656 9155 4666 9155 4672 9121
4661 9116
TIME...MOT...LOC 2219Z 267DEG 20KT 4662 9147
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
UnruhSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Duluth MN
525 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
WIZ001-006-007-282300-
Douglas WI-Washburn WI-Burnett WI-
525 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF SOUTHWESTERN
DOUGLAS, NORTHWESTERN WASHBURN AND NORTHEASTERN BURNETT COUNTIES
THROUGH 600 PM CDT...
At 525 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Dairyland, or 30 miles northwest of Spooner, moving southeast at 30
mph.
HAZARD...Winds gusts up to 30 mph and penny size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow unsecured
objects around. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
This storm will remain over mainly rural areas of southwestern
Douglas, northwestern Washburn and northeastern Burnett Counties,
including the following locations... Cozy Corner, Minong Flowage and
Moose Junction.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Anyone outdoors, including anyone on or in the water, should seek
shelter inside a sturdy building or hard topped vehicle.
This storm may intensify. Monitor local NOAA Weather Radio,
commercial radio, or television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 4622 9230 4626 9229 4631 9218 4615 9184
4605 9196 4601 9215
TIME...MOT...LOC 2225Z 315DEG 26KT 4622 9218
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
UnruhSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Duluth MN
545 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
WIZ002-003-282315-
Bayfield WI-Ashland WI-
545 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF CENTRAL BAYFIELD AND
WEST CENTRAL ASHLAND COUNTIES THROUGH 615 PM CDT...
At 544 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Ino, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Winds gusts up to 30 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow unsecured
objects around. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Barksdale, Ashland and Washburn.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Anyone outdoors, including anyone on or in the water, should seek
shelter inside a sturdy building or hard topped vehicle.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive through flood waters.
&&
LAT...LON 4656 9131 4666 9131 4673 9091 4665 9082
4651 9088
TIME...MOT...LOC 2244Z 264DEG 26KT 4662 9122
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
UnruhSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Duluth MN
612 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
MNZ038-WIZ006-282345-
Pine MN-Burnett WI-
612 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF SOUTHEASTERN PINE
AND CENTRAL BURNETT COUNTIES THROUGH 645 PM CDT...
At 612 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 7
miles northeast of Grantsburg, or 17 miles east of Pine City, moving
east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Winds gusts up to 30 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow unsecured
objects around. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Siren and Webster.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Anyone outdoors, including anyone on or in the water, should seek
shelter inside a sturdy building or hard topped vehicle.
This storm may intensify. Monitor local NOAA Weather Radio,
commercial radio, or television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 4586 9276 4597 9274 4599 9228 4585 9222
4573 9232 4573 9234
TIME...MOT...LOC 2312Z 275DEG 28KT 4588 9261
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
UnruhSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Duluth MN
620 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
WIZ003-282345-
Ashland WI-
620 PM CDT Mon Aug 28 2023
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL ASHLAND
COUNTY THROUGH 645 PM CDT...
At 619 PM CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Ashland, or 34 miles west of Ironwood, moving east at 30 mph.
HAZARD...Winds gusts up to 30 mph and pea size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow unsecured
objects around. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
possible.
This strong thunderstorm will be near...
Odanah around 635 PM CDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Anyone outdoors, including anyone on or in the water, should seek
shelter inside a sturdy building or hard topped vehicle.
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive through flood waters.
&&
LAT...LON 4659 9052 4658 9055 4649 9055 4655 9093
4658 9093 4659 9094 4658 9094 4659 9095
4663 9092 4666 9091 4668 9086 4670 9066
4662 9054 4662 9051
TIME...MOT...LOC 2319Z 275DEG 28KT 4662 9085
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.25 IN
MAX WIND GUST...30 MPH
UnruhThe Duluth radar (KDLH), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:37 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Several branches were down and a small tree had been split in two. Some dock and pontoon boat damage was also reported on Devils Lake.
Photos were received from a spotter on the south end of Benoit Lake showing tree damage to their property. They reported 10 large trees down on their property with one landing on their garage causing minor damage. The spotter also estimated that there were hundreds of trees down in the area between Benoit and Rice lakes. Pea to dim sized hail also fell and was covering the ground in the photos as well.
Several maple, oak and pine trees were blown down in the storm.
A photo was received of an eight inch diameter tree that had been snapped. The observer noted that the tree already had a scar on it.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Wisconsin in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, August 2023
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: 1131577, 1140028, 1131574, 1131578, 1131575.