Home / Wisconsin / Marathon

EF0 tornado in Marathon County, Wisconsin

Tornado May 15, 2025 · Marathon County, Wisconsin

EF0

Rating

2.5 mi

Path length

65 yd

Path width

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 65 yards (0.04 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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 tornado developed near Rib Falls at 5:41 pm CDT, then tracked north before lifting at 5:50 pm CDT. Most of the tornado occurred over an area that was void of clear damage indicators. Total path length is estimated to be 2.50 miles long, with a width of 65 yards. Peak wind estimated to be around 85 mph.

The wider storm

Showers and thunderstorms developed ahead of an occluded front Thursday afternoon (5/15) across western Wisconsin. Storms tracked through the area during the late afternoon and early evening hours. The strongest storms produced 3 tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail up to golf ball size across central and north-central Wisconsin.

Began near Rib Falls (44.9630, -89.9200).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Marathon County EF0 Portage County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1247791. 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.