Storm Record · Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Sauk, Walworth, Waukesha Counties
May 21, 2024: Straight-line wind and a tornado across six counties
1.5″
Largest hail
75
Strongest gust
1
Tornado
41
NWS reports
What the National Weather Service recorded
Lines and clusters of severe thunderstorms moved across southern WI from the late morning through the late evening as the passage of a warm front was quickly followed by a cold front. Straight-line winds accounted for fairly widespread tree limb damage especially over south central WI. Several reports of large hail were received while street flooding was reported in Madison. A couple brief EF1 tornadoes also occurred.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database · episode 190326
Every report, in the Weather Service's words
Where It Hit
| Location | County | Hazard | Size | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okee (7.56 WSW) | Columbia | Wind | 75 mph wind | A swath of significant tree damage from the golf course to a nearby subdivision. About a dozen large trees uprooted. Some trees snapped at various heights from the trunk. Many branches snapped off. |
| Belleville (.69 N) | Dane | Wind | 74 mph wind | Measured wind gust. |
| Verona (1.22 NW) | Dane | Wind | 70 mph wind | A swath of tree damage near the center of Verona. |
| Madison Morey Arpt (4 SSW) | Dane | Wind | 70 mph wind | Several trees down including a large, old 4 foot diameter Oak Tree down on Old Sauk Road, and a 12 inch pine snapped in half. Many 3-6 inch branches also down. |
| Verona (.86 SW) | Dane | Wind | 70 mph wind | Extensive tree damage on the south side of Verona. |
| Henry Vilas Park Zoo (2.89 SW) | Dane | Wind | 64 mph wind | Several large trees uprooted. |
| Windsor (.5 W) | Dane | Wind | 64 mph wind | Three large trees uprooted. |
| Columbus (.72 NNE) | Columbia | Wind | 64 mph wind | Several trees uprooted in Columbus. |
| Wales (.51 W) | Waukesha | Wind | 64 mph wind | Many tree limbs down in Wales on multiple properties. |
| Wales (1.22 NW) | Waukesha | Wind | 64 mph wind | Several trees down. |
| Mendota (.5 E) | Dane | Wind | 64 mph wind | Numerous trees down on the north side of Madison along Sherman Ave. and Northport Dr., and Warner Park. |
| Martinsville (3.59 W) | Dane | Wind | 64 mph wind | Numerous Black Cherry, Hickory, and Elm Trees with split tops and large limbs down. Two prominent wind gusts during its duration. |
| Beaver Dam (.85 SW) | Dodge | Wind | 63 mph wind | Multiple trees and limbs down in Beaver Dam. |
| Madison Truax Airport (.5 W) | Dane | Wind | 62 mph wind | Measured wind gust of 62 mph at Dane County Regional Airport. |
| Fox Lake (.85 SW) | Dodge | Wind | 62 mph wind | Scattered tree damage across the northern half of Dodge County. This included tree damage in the Fox Lake area and a reported measured wind gust of 62 mph. |
| Mazomanie (.93 SSE) | Dane | Wind | 60 mph wind | Scattered tree limbs down, some large, along highway 14 from just east of Mazomanie to just west of Middleton after a series of lines and clusters of thunderstorms. |
| Madison Morey Arpt (.52 SSW) | Dane | Wind | 59 mph wind | Measured wind gust of 59 mph at Middleton Municipal Airport. |
| Spring Green | Sauk | Wind | 58 mph wind | Scattered tree branches down, some large, in Spring Green. |
| Sauk City | Sauk | Wind | 58 mph wind | Scattered tree limbs down in Sauk City and Prairie Du Sac. |
| Sun Prairie (1.66 WNW) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | Numerous branches down in Sun Prairie. |
| Danville (2.94 NNW) | Dodge | Wind | 58 mph wind | A tree snapped in half. |
| Elkhorn Arpt (2.03 E) | Walworth | Wind | 58 mph wind | A large tree down. |
| Dane (3.42 NW) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | Multiple tree limbs and trees down near Lodi Marsh. |
| Bethesda (2.13 NNW) | Waukesha | Wind | 58 mph wind | A tree limb fell onto a fence. |
| Riley (2.57 SE) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | Two large highway distance signs bent downward at a large angle. |
| Cottage Grove (.69 N) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | Tree damage in Cottage Grove. |
| Wanoawega (2.13 SSE) | Walworth | Wind | 58 mph wind | Fascia torn off a home in Elkhorn. |
| Bethesda (1.67 ENE) | Waukesha | Wind | 58 mph wind | Eighteen inch diameter tree snapped. |
| North Prairie (.86 SW) | Waukesha | Wind | 58 mph wind | A large tree snapped at the base. |
| Belleville (1.47 NNW) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | Tree damage in Belleville. |
| Mc Farland (.51 W) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | High winds leading to broken tree limbs in McFarland. |
| Waunakee (.69 N) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | Top of a tree snapped and another tree snapped at its base. |
| De Forest (1.01 W) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | A large tree snapped at its base. |
| Sun Prairie (.86 NW) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | Large branches down on a roof. |
| Seminary Spgs (2.02 W) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | A large tree, 1-1.5 feet in diameter, snapped clean approximately 4-5 feet above the ground. |
| Mt Horeb (.86 NW) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | A piece of steel facia was blown off a home. |
| Stoughton (.86 NW) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | Picture of 1.5 inch diameter hail. |
| Shorewood Hills (2.88 WSW) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Fall River (.5 W) | Columbia | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Kegonsa (.86 SW) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | Video of 1 inch diameter hail falling. |
| Mt Horeb (1.75 ESE) | Dane | Tornado | EF1 | Tornado began near Springdale where it hit a farm. Two sheds were lofted into a nearby woods where numerous trees were damaged and placed in a crisscross manner. The tornado then crossed Highway 18-151 while tracking to the northeast. It hit an outbuilding on County Rd P which caused it to shift off its foundation. Further north, it uprooted or snapped about 20 mature trees at a farmstead on County Rd P. The tornado then went across Cty P and ended near Valley Spring Rd and County Rd J. |
Service areas this storm touched