Severe thunderstorm warning covers Menominee County, hail and 60 mph winds expected

Radar showed a severe thunderstorm over Keshena at 4:22 p.m. CDT June 24, and National Weather Service Green Bay warned southeastern Menominee County of ping-pong-ball-size hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph until 5:15 p.m. The alert also covered southern Oconto County and eastern Shawano County as the cell moved southeast at 20 mph.

The warning mattered immediately in Keshena, the county seat of Menominee County and the seat of government for the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. Keshena sits on the Menominee Indian Reservation, where the tribe says the reservation boundaries nearly match Menominee County’s own outline. The reservation’s five main communities are Keshena, Neopit, Middle Village, Zoar and South Branch, making the storm a concern across the county’s central community network as well as the surrounding roads that connect it.

The area at risk includes places where people gather for daily life and services, not just open stretches of highway. The College of Menominee Nation’s main campus is in Keshena, and the Menominee Indian School District has schools and offices there as well. A fast-moving storm over the county seat can force people indoors quickly, disrupt travel between Keshena and nearby communities, and create a short but serious window for anyone outside to get under cover.

The hazards listed in the warning were not minor summer inconveniences. Hail the size of ping-pong balls can break windows, dent vehicles, damage roofs and siding, and strip leaves from trees. Wind gusts up to 60 mph can bring down limbs, blow around loose outdoor objects and make driving dangerous on county roads and reservation streets alike. The warning also said people and animals outdoors could be injured, underscoring the immediate safety threat for anyone caught away from shelter.

Menominee County’s size helps explain why a warning like this can touch so many routines at once. The county had 4,255 residents in the 2020 Census and covers 357.6 square miles of land, so a narrow band of severe weather can still affect a large share of daily activity. Keshena itself had 1,257 residents in the 2020 Census, concentrating the impact in the community at the center of the warning.