Thunderstorm Wind in Walworth County, Wisconsin

Frontal induced severe thunderstorms downed trees and power lines over much of south-central and southeast Wisconsin during the evening hours. Hardest hit was the Lake Geneva (Walworth Co.) area where downburst winds leveled hundreds of large trees, several street signs, and a large quantity of commercial signs. A dozen vehicles were damaged or totaled and 2 homes sustained significant damage. A 100 mph wind was recorded at the Grand Geneva Airport and 2 people were injured (one in a moving vehicle). Local officials consider this to be the worst storm in 58 years. In Monroe (Green Co.), the powerful thunderstorm winds also damaged 6 vehicles and 2 homes. Elsewhere, hail, high winds, lightning, and torrential rains played havoc. In West Bend (Washington Co.), lightning ignited a fire in an apartment complex and caused a quarter of a million dollars in damage. Urban flooding in Janesville (Rock Co.) resulted in standing water between a foot to a foot and a half deep across area roadways. Wind damage was the most common culprit though with over 200 power lines downed and 17,000 customers without service in southeast Wisconsin and 10,000 residents left without power across south-central Wisconsin.