Severe thunderstorms swept through southeastern Wisconsin on Friday, July 3, 2026, causing widespread power outages and prompting brief tornado warnings across multiple counties as the holiday weekend commenced.
The fast-moving weather system generated destructive winds exceeding 70 mph, which severely impacted local utility grids.
By early Friday afternoon, the severe weather knocked out electricity for more than 14,000 customers in Kenosha County and over 13,000 residents in Racine County.
An initial spike in utility disruptions was also documented earlier in Jefferson County.
Walworth and Waukesha counties remained under a severe thunderstorm watch until Friday evening.
The National Weather Service canceled all active tornado and thunderstorm warnings for the region by 1:37 p.
m. on Friday as the primary storm front moved out of the area.
Earlier Severe Weather and Aftermath
This severe system followed an earlier supercell thunderstorm that tracked through Fond du Lac County on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, producing massive hail stones larger than 3 inches near Rosendale and Waupun.
The National Weather Service offices in southeastern Wisconsin have requested local residents to submit official damage reports and severe weather accounts from both systems.
Local weather forecasts indicate that dry conditions will prevail during the first half of Saturday for the Fourth of July parades, with temperatures peaking near 80 degrees.
However, subsequent rounds of rain are projected to develop during the second half of Independence Day, potentially disrupting scheduled evening fireworks displays across the region.
