18 Tornadoes Wreak Havoc in Wisconsin

[sintax]

18 Tornadoes Wreak Havoc in Wisconsin

Saturday August 20, 2005 2:46 AM

By RYAN J. FOLEY

Associated Press Writer

STOUGHTON, Wis. (AP) - Emerging from her basement, Connie Janisch saw destruction all around her. One of more than a dozen tornadoes to hit the state Thursday night had ripped through the neighborhood, destroying homes and dumping remnants of three other roofs in her yard. Then she considered what could have been.

Meteorologists believe 18 tornadoes touched down Thursday night in an area almost 100 miles long. The state normally averages 21 tornadoes in an entire year, according to the National Weather Service.

One man was killed when his home near Stoughton collapsed during the storm, and about three dozen people were treated at hospitals for injuries. In all, about 30 homes were destroyed and more than 200 damaged.

<snip>

n Stoughton, a tornado left a 12-mile-long, half-mile-wide path. Preliminary reports suggested its winds reached more than 200 mph. The storm was so strong, roof shingles, papers and other debris were found in the Milwaukee area, 60 miles away.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5221744,00.html

[Olney Blue]

1. I'm sorry to hear this- tornadoes are terrible.

My sympathy to Wisconsin.

[goforit]

2. WOW!!!......This is terrible and surprising.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Sounds like Wisconsin is the new Florida.

We were into our second hurricane of the season at this time last year.

[TomInTib]

4. The Guardian grabbed this before AP.... n/t

[karlrschneider]

5. The "tornado alley" seems to be drifting north. We're used to tornados

here in Oklahoma but seem to be getting fewer and fewer the last decade and there appear to be more (was one in Wyoming the other day) up-country.

[vanboggie]

8. Not necessarily

Michigan doesn't get tornadoes like it used to, at least in our area. The winters are not as snowy either, but they do seem to be getting colder. Weird weather patterns all over the planet.

[karlrschneider]

10. You're right, the wx patterns are anomalous. I think California had a

tornado this year, something almost never heard of. Has your temp been
somewhat 'normal' this year? It has been hotter than usual down here,
several days this month over 100F (just looked at the remote t'mometer, it's still 87 outside at 10 pm.)

[vanboggie]

13. Yes

This summmer has been warmer than average (several 90+ degree days with high humidity) and with more rainfall in most areas, but extreme levels of drought in a few.

[gizmo1979]

15. We've been hot and dry.

Which makes the tornadoes even more out of character.I can count on 1 hand the times it's rained this summer.

[uppityperson]

6. That's a lot of tornados, F5, 200 mph winds, picts, link here

Sorry Wisconsin.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050819-1829-wisconsintornadoes.html

[KC21304]

9. It is hard to believe only one person died in all of this.

[rodeodance]

11. i live in Dane county and Stoughten is about 10 miles south of here. We

all heard the sirens and hit the basements.

[gizmo1979]

16. I think they said it was

a weak f4 or strong f3.f5 the pavement would be gone and all structures would be totally demolished.Not that this wasn't horific,but f5's in WI are extremely rare.Barnfeild was the last I think.

[MadisonProgressive]

7. I live a few miles down the road from Stoughton

18 is a shitload of tornados when Wisconsin only gets 21 on average all year.

[Boomer]

12. Why am I reading about this in a BRITISH paper first?

I know U.S. media don't like to talk about global warming, but are they now avoiding talking about anomalous weather as well?

[buddysmellgood]

14. Well, it's not like we don't get tornados. One came through my backyard

last year. Very little damage for us.
I live north of Stoughton. This was an interesting storm, but I don't think we can tie it to global warming.
.

[gizmo1979]

17. Yes it was weird.

It took over 3 hrs to go from Dane county to racine county.How can something with winds like that move so slow?