Wind Damage from Storms on August 21, 2002
Synopsis of event:
A line of thunderstorms moved west to east across south-central and southeast Wisconsin.
Individual storms moved northeast. A series of wet microbursts and bow echoes developed.
In scattered locations, wind gusts reached hurricane force of 74 mph or higher. Some gusts
were in the 90 mph range. Heavy rains and poor visibilities accompanied the gusts. Many homes
were damaged. In a couple of cases, intersecting surface outflow boundries, or gust fronts,
triggered a gound-based spin up of a gustnado which resulted in damage. Gustnadoes are not
true tornadoes.
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At 6:05 PM, a bowing line segment of storms moved through the area 1 mile southwest
of Lamont in Lafayette county. These images are of the Doppler 88D Reflectivity (left) and
Velocity (right) around the time the damage occurred. Images of some of the damage are included. |
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Wet microburst winds tore a garage off a home and flattened an old barn and damaged trees about 1.5 miles
southwest of Lamont. Winds were estimated briefly in the 75 mph range (hurricane force). Local residents
reported near whiteout conditions due to heavy rain going sideways.
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At 7:55 PM, a bowing line segment of storms moved through the area 1 mile northeast
of the Waukesha airport in Waukesha county. These images are of the Doppler 88D Reflectivity (left) and
Velocity (right) around the time the damage occurred. Images of some of the damage are included. |
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A 98 mph thunderstorm wet microburst started just northeast of the airport and moved northeast through Pewaukee into
Brookfield to Capitol Dr. and Calhoun Rd. At least a dozen homes were damaged and numerous trees uptrooted. A 98 mph
gust was measured near the intersection of Green and Duplainville Rd. A 56 mph gust occurred at Waukesha
airport.
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