MONROE - Severe weather Thursday night and Friday morning took its toll on livestock at Brad Timm's farm at N629 Clarno Road as lightning killed eight cows.
Timm went out to his barn Friday morning to milk his Holstein cows and found that eight were missing. They never came in from the pasture as they normally do.
Timm walked out to the pasture and found the cows dead under a tree.
"The tree got hit by lightning and it must have went into the ground and killed the cows," his wife Cathy Timm said.
She said the cows were standing under the tree when the lightning struck.
Cathy Timm said nothing like this has happened before in the 26 years she and her husband have been farming.
"I've heard about it happening, but I could never validate any of the stories until today," she said.
Cathy Timm wasn't sure how much the cows were worth, but said they were "good milking" cows.
Heavy winds, thunder, lightning and rain were part of the storm that came through the area Thursday evening through Friday morning.
Almost 1.5 inches of rain fell in Monroe in a 24-hour period that ended Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The severe weather Thursday caused the tractor pull at the Green County Fair to stop at about 9 p.m.
If rains continue through the weekend, the harness racing at the fair, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Sunday, could also be canceled, said John Remley, who helps take care of the track at the fairgrounds.
More rain was expected overnight Friday. The NWS forecast for today calls for a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Rainfall could be between a quarter and half inch. The rain is expected to last for up to two hours.
A 20 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms is forecast before 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
The NWS issued a flood warning for the Sugar River near Brodhead and the Pecatonica River near Martintown.
Timm went out to his barn Friday morning to milk his Holstein cows and found that eight were missing. They never came in from the pasture as they normally do.
Timm walked out to the pasture and found the cows dead under a tree.
"The tree got hit by lightning and it must have went into the ground and killed the cows," his wife Cathy Timm said.
She said the cows were standing under the tree when the lightning struck.
Cathy Timm said nothing like this has happened before in the 26 years she and her husband have been farming.
"I've heard about it happening, but I could never validate any of the stories until today," she said.
Cathy Timm wasn't sure how much the cows were worth, but said they were "good milking" cows.
Heavy winds, thunder, lightning and rain were part of the storm that came through the area Thursday evening through Friday morning.
Almost 1.5 inches of rain fell in Monroe in a 24-hour period that ended Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The severe weather Thursday caused the tractor pull at the Green County Fair to stop at about 9 p.m.
If rains continue through the weekend, the harness racing at the fair, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Sunday, could also be canceled, said John Remley, who helps take care of the track at the fairgrounds.
More rain was expected overnight Friday. The NWS forecast for today calls for a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Rainfall could be between a quarter and half inch. The rain is expected to last for up to two hours.
A 20 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms is forecast before 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
The NWS issued a flood warning for the Sugar River near Brodhead and the Pecatonica River near Martintown.