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F0 tornado in Grant County, Wisconsin

Tornado June 18, 1998 · Grant County, Wisconsin

F0
Rating
0.1 mi
Path length
35 yd
Path width
1
Injury
$200K
Damage as recorded
$20K
Crop damage
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F0 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F0 meant light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken; the scale paired it with winds of 40–72 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

The wider storm

A line of severe thunderstorms accompanied by straight-line winds up to 70 mph caused extensive damage across southwest Wisconsin.A short-lived tornado hit a dairy barn near Retreat (Vernon Co.), killing five cows and injuring one person. The F1 tornado skipped along the ground and stacked trees together after its passage.A second smaller tornado hit Lancaster (Grant Co.) causing damage to several homes and knocking down hundreds of trees in the city.Other notable damage consisted of a roof blown off the elementary school in Cashton (Monroe Co.) and a bowling alley in Westby (Vernon Co.). In West Salem (La Crosse Co.), a large circus tent, with 500 people inside, collapsed during one of the performances. Thirteen people were injured. There were numerous other reports of trees or power lines down.

Began near Lancaster (42.8500, -90.7200).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5653475. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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