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EF0 tornado in Walworth County, Wisconsin

Tornado August 20, 2018 · Walworth County, Wisconsin

EF0

Rating

0.7 mi

Path length

150 yd

Path width

$15K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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

Damage was noted to flags, a large tree limb and metal casing from a US Bank

sign. A small dumpster was also tipped behind the bank. The tornado then tracked to the west northwest through the Wileman Elementary School grounds where numerous large tree limbs were downed. Rubber roofing material on a portion of the school building was lifted and set back in place. The tornado then tracked through residences to the west northwest downing numerous limbs and a rotted/damaged tree. Gutter and roofing damage was noted on one home.

The wider storm

An organized and slow moving low pressure area within a very moist airmass resulted in 9 to 15 inches of rain and historic flash flooding from the west side of Madison to Mazomanie, and south to Belleville. State of Emergencies were declared with hundreds of homes flooded and hundreds of citizens evacuated or stranded in the flood waters. The flash flooding of streets and creeks on the west side of Madison resulted in the drowning death of one man. The already high levels of the Yahara Chain of Lakes reached record levels for the end of August into early September. This resulted in sustained flooding in sections of the isthmus in Madison and lakeshore areas of Lake Monona and Lake Waubesa. In addition to the historic flash flooding, one EF0 tornado occurred in Delavan in Walworth Co. A couple firefighters were indirectly struck by lightning and suffered minor injuries in Cross Plains. Lightning also was the cause of a house fire near Cross Plains.

Began near Delavan (42.6275, -88.6283).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 775393. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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