The 20th anniversary of the May 31st Derecho is shortly approaching

-
0:33
Skate Milwaukee provides competition experience⛸️
-
0:56
Celebrating Chinese culture with the annual Dragon Boat Festival...
-
3:08
Wildfire smoke becomes heavy tonight
-
1:15
2 dead, 3 injured in overnight downtown Milwaukee shooting
-
4:02
Frida Fest returns to Milwaukee
-
2:40
Schlesinger’s Saturday Showcase (7/12)...Harley, Hmong, and...
-
2:57
Poor air quality, few storms make the Saturday weather headlines
-
5:18
AMBER Alert cancelled: Jamal White, the 7-year-old abducted by...
-
3:55
Thousands line procession route from funeral service to cemetery...
-
6:29
’The world is a better place because of who Kendall was’:...
-
3:28
Funeral services, procession for fallen Milwaukee Police Officer...
-
5:13
CBS 58’s Feel Good Fridays: Dragon Boat Festival, outdoor movies,...
WATERTOWN, Wis. (CBS 58) - -Some severe weather events are in a class all by themselves. One such episode is the derecho of May 31st, 1998.
Very strong winds exceeding 100 mph in association with a complex of storms practically tore through the Badger State during the middle of the night when many of us were sleeping. A path of destruction was left in its wake. People had no power for close to a week. The Watertown Municipal Airport clocked winds at 128 mph. One Washington County woman even died when a tree fell on her.
This particular storm even changed how words are chosen when severe warnings are actually issued. This derecho caused Lake Michigan to rise 10 feet at one point. In all the storm traveled a thousand miles, moving from Minnesota to New York.