Milwaukee, WI
Showers and storms are in the July 4 forecast for Milwaukee and other Wisconsin cities
See and hear the 2023 Milwaukee lakefront fireworks grand finale
The sights and sounds of the 2023 Milwaukee lakefront fireworks grand finale.
Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
It might seem like summer just started, but the Fourth of July will be here on Thursday.
Perhaps you’re looking forward to celebrating with a cookout, boat ride or fireworks. But, before you plan your festivities, you should probably check the forecast.
Showers and possible thunderstorms developing along a warm front passing through Iowa and Illinois could dampen celebrations across Wisconsin during peak fireworks hours, said Milwaukee-Sullivan National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Gehring. This system is expected to spread from the southwestern portion of the state to the northeast throughout the day.
Here’s what to know if you’re celebrating Independence Day in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee Fourth of July forecast
Milwaukee can expect a high around 80 degrees on Thursday, July 4, with warmer temperatures further from Lake Michigan. A 30% chance of precipitation is in the forecast for the city after 1 p.m. Winds are expected to be light for daytime celebrations.
Thursday evening, precipitation chances climb to 40% around 6 p.m. and increase throughout the night. Thunderstorms are possible late in the evening. Gehring said it’s not yet certain whether the storms will hold off until most fireworks shows are over.
“That 50% chance (of precipitation) won’t be until late in the evening,” he said. “I think there’s a pretty good chance any fireworks that are occurring the evening of the Fourth, you could still get them in. But, it’s really up in the air here what’s going to happen Thursday night.”
Madison Fourth of July forecast
Madison is expected to see a high around 82 degrees on Thursday, with partly sunny weather through the early afternoon. Winds are expected to be calm. Showers and thunderstorms are possible after 1 p.m., NWS says, with a 55% chance of precipitation at 6 p.m., increasing throughout the evening.
Like in Milwaukee, it is not yet certain whether the storms will disrupt peak fireworks hours or strike later on in the night, Gehring said.
Green Bay and Door County Fourth of July forecast
Widespread periods of rain are expected in the evening and overnight hours of July 4 in northeastern Wisconsin, but the exact timing is still unknown, said Green Bay NWS meteorologist Gus Kaiser.
A high of 83 degrees is in the forecast for Green Bay on Thursday. Door County is expected to see a high near 80.
“There is a 30 to 40% chance (of precipitation) here in Green Bay after about 6-7 p.m. and increasing through the evening,” Kaiser said. “Then, Door County is that pushed back an hour or two. So, the further east you are, the better chance things could be dry for fireworks.”
Rhinelander and northwestern Wisconsin Fourth of July forecast
July 4 showers and storms are most likely during peak fireworks time in northwestern and north-central Wisconsin. In Rhinelander, precipitation chances are expected to increase from 50% to 70% throughout the holiday afternoon, Kaiser said.
Rhinelander is expected to see a high of 79 degrees on Independence Day with chances of showers beginning around 1 p.m. and increasing throughout the evening.
A high of 81 degrees is in the forecast for Eau Claire with calm winds in the afternoon. Showers and thunderstorms are expected throughout the holiday. Precipitation chances climb from 55% at 3 p.m. to 70% at 9 p.m.
Can I shoot off fireworks during a thunderstorm?
It is not recommended to shoot off fireworks during a storm.
According to WeatherSTEM, lightning is the most dangerous weather condition in which to hold fireworks shows. Unlit fireworks can be sparked by stray lightning strikes and ignite on the ground, which can be quite hazardous for people nearby. Additionally, spectators risk being struck by lightning if sitting outside to watch fireworks during a storm.
Plus, storms can ruin the magic of a fireworks show. Storms can bring humid conditions and high levels of water vapor in the air. If the air is too humid, fireworks’ colors will be less bright, and they may not light properly.
Wisconsin weather radar
Wisconsin weather warnings
More: Where to watch Fourth of July fireworks in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, other Wisconsin cities
More: Milwaukee mayor announces July 4 festivities in wake of cancellation of lakefront fireworks
Drone video shows dug‑up yard at former Michael Lock home
Drone video shows a dug‑up yard at a Milwaukee home once owned by Michael Lock, following a police search for possible homicide victims.
Milwaukee police on Monday, April 20, began digging up a home once owned by notorious Milwaukee drug dealer Michael Lock.
The dig marks another chapter in Lock’s long criminal history in Milwaukee, which has included convictions for homicide, drug dealing, kidnapping, torture and running a prostitution ring.
As of 6 p.m., April 20, police had partially dug up the concrete driveway and yard in Lock’s former home. Lock has been convicted of murders of other drug dealers whose bodies were found under concrete slabs at a different home he owned.
As the dig continues, here’s what to know about Lock:
Who is Michael Lock?
Lock was the head of a murderous criminal organization known as the “Body Snatchers” and one of the leading criminal operators in Milwaukee until his 2007 arrest.
Over the course of a decade, Lock’s organization sold large volumes of cocaine, tortured and killed other dealers, prostituted women across the Midwest and ran a mortgage fraud scheme.
A jury convicted Lock in July 2008 in the homicides of two drug dealers in 1999 and 2000, whose remains were found in 2005 under concrete slabs in the backyard of a home once owned by Lock at 4900 W. Fiebrantz Ave. He has also been found guilty of running a prostitution ring, various kidnapping and drug dealing charges and mortgage fraud.
Where is Michael Lock now?
Lock is is serving multiple terms of life in prison at Waupun Correctional Institution without the chance of parole.
Where are Milwaukee police digging on April 20?
Milwaukee police confirmed they are executing a search warrant at the home on 4343 N. 15th St. in Milwaukee’s north side. City tax records show the property is owned by Shalanda Roberts, formerly Shalanda Lock, Michael Lock’s former wife.
Why are police digging up the yard of Lock’s former home?
There has long been suspicion on the part of law enforcement that there are additional bodies buried under the yard. In 2011, police dug another Milwaukee yard looking for remains.
In that warrant 15 years ago, investigators said at least four victims are buried somewhere in Milwaukee. Before that, police had dug a half-dozen other yards. Police have found no remains in the other digs.
Who lives at the property now?
It is unclear if anyone currently lives at the North 15th Street property. Shalanda Roberts told the Journal Sentinel she owns the property where police are digging, but it is a rental and she lives out of state now.
She said she has no information on the dig and has not spoken to her former husband in years.
Read the Journal Sentinel’s past coverage on Michael Lock
The Journal Sentinel documented the case against Lock in a five-part investigative series, “The Preacher’s Mob,” published in 2009.
You can read the series below:
Marvin Bynum, adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School, was named to BizTimes Milwaukee’s list of Notable Leaders in Law.
Bynum, shareholder and real estate attorney with Milwaukee-based Godfrey & Kahn, teaches a course on real estate transactions at Marquette. He has experience with a range of property types, from sports facilities to manufacturing plants and office spaces, and works to help clients navigate transactions including development, financing, leasing, acquisitions, dispositions and low-income housing tax credit-financed projects.
Notable Leaders in Law is part of BizTimes Milwaukee’s Notable series, which recognizes leaders in the southeastern Wisconsin business community.
Six alumni were also named to the list:
- Jim Brzezinski, managing partner and CEO of Tabak Law
- Adam R. Finkel, partner at Husch Blackwell
- Jeremy Guth, shareholder and attorney at O’Leary-Guth Law Office S.C.
- Keith Kopplin, shareholder at the Milwaukee office of Ogletree Deakins
- Isioma Nwabuzor, associate general counsel and assistant corporate secretary at Modine Manufacturing Co.
- Joe Pickart, partner at Husch Blackwell
Milwaukee Wave coach Marcio Leite 2025-26 team’s evolution in MASL
See first-year Milwaukee Wave head coach Marcio Leite discuss the roles of younger players and veterans as the 2025-26 MASL season begins.
The Milwaukee Wave had been in the awkward position of trying to sell tickets to the MASL championship series without knowing when it would actually host a game.
The questions were answered late April 19, when the San Diego Sockers beat the St. Louis Ambush in the other semifinal in overtime. Their series didn’t even start until four days after the Wave eliminated the Baltimore Blast with victories in a regulation Game 2 and knockout Game 3 at the UWM Panther Arena.
Now the finals are set for two of the most decorated teams in arena soccer.
The Wave will host Game 1 at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 and then the series will finish at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California, with Game 2 at 9:30 p.m. April 24 and a potential Game 3 at 9 p.m. April 27.
Three versions of the Sockers have totaled 16 championships in various indoor league with the latest iteration founded in 2009 owning six of those. The Wave has seven.
First-year Wave head coach Marcio Leite has won titles with both franchises.
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