WAUSAU PILOT AND REVIEW
Weather officials have released new details about powerful storm systems that barreled through central and northern Wisconsin on both Friday and Saturday, including seven tornadoes that touched down in the area.
According to the National Weather Service, the worst damage appears to have been associated with a “macroburst,” a large downburst of straight-line winds that affected Langlade and Oconto counties. Many tens of thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted, resulting in damage to dozens of homes and cottages, weather officials said. The path of the most extreme damage may have been 15 miles wide, and more than 25 miles long. Winds were likely more than 100 mph in this area.
The first tornado, an EF-0, was confirmed at 7 p.m. Friday along Hwy. 8 in Tripoli. Then an EF-1 tornado was on the ground just west of Pelican Lake at about 7:45 p.m., though no major damage was reported.
A third tornado, an EF-1 in the town of Knowlton, touched down at around 8:25 p.m. Friday. The tornado destroyed a barn, ripped roofs off of buildings and damaged hundreds of trees. The Knowlton tornado crossed I-39 and was on the ground for at least nine miles.
On Saturday, four tornadoes touched down in Wisconsin including EF-1 tornados in New London at 11:05 a.m. and in Hortonville at 11:18 a.m., followed by EF-0 tornadoes in Greenville and Wrightstown.
An EF-1 tornado is considered a moderate tornado with winds between 86-110 mph. An EF-0 tornado has winds up to 85 mph.
There’s no cost estimate yet on damaged caused by weekend storms.
