EF2 Tornado — Grant, Wisconsin

2014-06-16 · near Platteville, Grant, Wisconsin

Event narrative

A tornado formed along a squall line west of Platteville, just south of County Road B, and traveled through Memorial Park on to the Univ. of Wisconsin - Platteville campus. Five people were injured, one of them seriously. There was extensive damage done to five buildings and the stadium on campus. Roofs of two new residential halls were partially destroyed and a third residential hall was also damaged along with one academic building. Two large lighting structures at the football stadium were knocked over, with one crashing across the bleachers causing the concrete foundation underneath the bleachers to be substantially moved. Damage continued into nearby homes and businesses as the tornado tracked across Business Highway 151. The top level of a split level home was ripped off one house, another house lost part of a roof and a porch while several other homes had windows blown out and trees knocked down. A gas station/convenience store was leveled by the tornado where it also ripped a pump out of the ground and blew over a semi. Numerous other business and vehicles suffered blown out windows. After hitting a cemetery on the south side of town, the tornado dissipated just before reaching U.S. Highway 151 southeast of town. A total of 12 homes were destroyed with another 20 damaged.

At UW-Platteville, the tornado caused $7.3 million in damage to Bridgeway Commons, $4.8 million in damage to Rountree Commons and $1.8 million to Southwest Hall. All three buildings are dorms.

The tornado caused $1.8 million in damage to Engineering Hall, a classroom building, and $1.7 million in damage to the stadium.

Wider weather episode

A line of severe thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon of June 16th across Minnesota and Iowa. As the storms rolled across western Wisconsin they produced sporadic wind damage and at least 2 tornadoes in Platteville (Grant County) where 5 injuries occurred. The tornadoes caused extensive damage to the University of Wisconsin - Platteville campus and to numerous homes and business near the campus. Damage estimates to the campus alone were near $10 million. The Governor of Wisconsin declared a state of emergency for three southern Wisconsin counties, including Grant. The U.S. Small Business Administration approved a request for a disaster declaration in Grant County. The disaster declaration allows homeowners and businesses to obtain loans to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (42.7376, -90.5188)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 518334. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.