Waves of thunderstorms—some hail-bearing—pounded a swath of central Wisconsin repeatedly Monday. It’s a pattern likely to repeat with some regularity in various sections of the Midwest in coming days as humidities build.
Isolated storms, the leftovers from Monday’s assault to the north, threaten an appearance in parts of the Chicago area as Tuesday begins—then may re-fire with daytime heating over 20-30% of the region in Tuesday’s muggy near-90° air. Better storm coverage—up to 70% of this area—may be visited by sometimes downpour-bearing storms Wednesday.
Golf-ball size hail pounded Thorp, Wis., in Clark County to the east of Eau Claire, for 10 minutes Monday. And a “wet” microburst, the blast of damaging winds which spreads radially as air after crashing to earth in t-storm downpours, generated 58 m.p.h. straightline wind gusts which damaged two aircraft on the east side of the Green Bay’s Austin Straubel Airport.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
