F1 Tornado — Marathon, Wisconsin

2002-09-02 · near Wausau, Marathon, Wisconsin

Wider weather episode

Thunderstorms developed along a strong cold front that moved through Wisconsin during the evening. Some of the storms produced hail to golf ball size and winds as high as 60 mph. The high winds downed trees and power line, knocking out power to about 3,100 customers, mainly around Wausau (Marathon co.).Two tornadoes developed from the storms. The first tornado briefly touched down about 5 miles west of Athens (Marathon co.) and caused minimal damage. The second tornado passed north of Wausau and stayed on the ground for about 5 miles, destroying two barns, a garage and a shed. It also snapped hundreds of trees, heavily damaged 6 homes and caused minor damage to 25 others. At least two vehicles traveling on Highway 51 were blown off the road. A trailer being towed by one of the vehicles was blown over and a large road sign hit the vehicle. The driver was injured and was transported to the hospital.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (45.0333, -89.7167)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5320317. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.