Thunderstorm Wind — Rusk, Wisconsin

2023-07-27 · near Hawkins, Rusk, Wisconsin

Event narrative

Several reports were received near the town of Hawkins, WI that trees and powerlines were downed by strong thunderstorm wind gusts.

Wider weather episode

Prolonged hot and humid conditions coupled with dry mid-levels in the atmosphere, led to extreme amounts of mixed-layer convective available potential energy (MLCAPE). The existence of deep layer shear allowed for numerous strong updrafts to develop across parts of Western WI with the primary hazards being large hail and damaging winds in the afternoon and early evening hours.

Hail measurements ranged between nickel (0.88 inch) to tea-cup (3.0 inch) size. The largest measured hail was reported 2.5 miles north of Bloomer or 5 miles NW of Chippewa Falls, WI.

Strong winds uprooted trees, broke large tree branches across, and brought down powerlines across much of the region affected by these storms. The areas with the most wind damage occurred along a line from Polk to Rusk Counties. Strongest wind gusts were estimated to be at least 50 knots or 57 mph.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (45.5200, -90.7300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1120299. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.