TornadoLookup

Home / Wisconsin / Eau Claire

EF1 tornado in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

Tornado April 28, 2025 · Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

EF1
Rating
2.0 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A pole barn was destroyed with parts of the barn in nearby trees and a field. Trees were uprooted and trunks snapped as the tornado moved to the east. The maximum estimated wind speed was 95 mph.

The wider storm

Strong to severe thunderstorms had developed across a surface cold front that moved east across western Wisconsin during the evening hours of April 28th. Increased southerly moisture transport from a +50kt low-level jet reached as far north as central Wisconsin.

This line of storms also produced four tornadoes solely within Eau Claire County. An additional tornado developed in Buffalo County before crossing into Eau Claire County briefly before lifting. Maximum estimated wind speeds from the tornadoes varied from 80 to 95 mph. Damage included many uprooted and snapped trees, a pole barn being destroyed, damage to a farm outbuilding, and some roof/shingle damage to a few homes.

Began near Cleghorn (44.6448, -91.4326).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

4 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Eau Claire CountyEF1 Eau Claire CountyEF0 Eau Claire CountyEF0 Eau Claire County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1240203. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.