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EF0 tornado in Portage County, Wisconsin

Tornado May 15, 2025 · Portage County, Wisconsin

EF0

Rating

5.2 mi

Path length

45 yd

Path width

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 45 yards (0.03 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 Bancroft at 5:52 pm CDT, then tracked north before lifting at 6:03 pm CDT. The start of the tornado was noted by trees across a road near the start of the path, with the rest of the tornado occurring over open area that was void of clear damage indicators. Total path length is estimated to be 5.21 miles long, with a width of 45 yards. Peak wind estimated to be around 65 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 Bancroft (44.2547, -89.6064).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Marathon County EF0 Marathon County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1247792. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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