Hail — La Crosse, Wisconsin

2011-04-10 · near Calvert, La Crosse, Wisconsin

Event narrative

Hundreds of homes received roof and siding damage as well as broken windows on the south side of La Crosse. Wal Mart department store reported approximately 20 sky lights broken. Hundreds of cars were also damaged with dents and broken windows and mirrors. There were several thousand claims made to major insurance companies in and around the La Crosse area.

Wider weather episode

A cold front pushed east into Wisconsin during the late afternoon and evening hours of April 10th. Severe thunderstorms developed along the cold front and produced very large hail and three tornadoes over portions of western and central Wisconsin. The hail ranged from quarter to tennis ball size and caused extensive damage to siding and cars in the southern portions of the city of La Crosse (La Crosse County). Although difficult to estimate, damage estimates from insurance companies and contractors in the area were between 20 and 30 million dollars from the one hail storm. National Weather Service storm survey teams confirmed two EF1 tornadoes and an EF2 tornado in Juneau and Adams counties. The tornadoes uprooted trees, knocked power lines down, flipped automobiles, and damaged or destroyed homes and businesses. In Adams County, 7 homes and 3 businesses were destroyed and damage assessments exceeded three and a half million dollars.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.7670, -91.2076)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 293744. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.