Tornados tonight!

[undeterred]

All around Madison - Oregon and McFarland got hit. There were sirens blaring my whole way home from Middleton to Madison. Stoughton sounds like it was hit badly - maybe even a tornado touchdown on I-90. Anyone close to the worst of it?

[RevCheesehead]

1. Ed - do you have any NWS info about this?

Some reported in central WI, also - near Westfield.

[undeterred]

4. ABC in Madison just went back to regular programming

because the counties in the viewing area- are not under a warning any more. I wish I had cable tv now. I did hear that what happened tonight was highly unusual for WI, more like the bigger stuff they see in Oklahoma and Texas. The reports on damage were still pretty thin, but maybe by 10pm news we'll know more. NWS info was all out of Milwaukee.

[niallmac]

2. I truly hope everyone escapes injury.

People always gave me grief about living in California with earthquakes. I'll take an earthquake over a tornado any day. Twisters scare the bejeezus out of me.

[halobeam]

3. Got this off NOAA special weather statement ... hope it helps

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN WI
750 PM CDT THU AUG 18 2005

WIZ046-047-051-052-056>060-062>072-190130-
COLUMBIA-DANE-DODGE-FOND DU LAC-GREEN-GREEN LAKE-IOWA-JEFFERSON-
KENOSHA-LAFAYETTE-MARQUETTE-MILWAUKEE-OZAUKEE-RACINE-ROCK-SAUK-
SHEBOYGAN-WALWORTH-WASHINGTON-WAUKESHA-
750 PM CDT THU AUG 18 2005

COLUMBIA-DANE-DODGE-FOND DU LAC-GREEN-GREEN
LAKE-IOWA-JEFFERSON-KENOSHA-LAFAYETTE-MARQUETTE-MILWAUKEE-OZAUKEE-
RACINE-ROCK-SAUK-SHEBOYGAN-WALWORTH-WASHINGTON-WAUKESHA-
750 PM CDT THU AUG 18 2005

...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM FOR SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN...
...TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM FOR SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN...

A TORNADIC STORM NEAR FORT ATKINSON CONTINUES TO MOVE SLOWLY
SOUTHEAST. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. DEBRIS IS
FALLING FROM THE SKY AS FAR EAST AS WALES IN WAUKESHA COUNTY. PERSONS
IN JEFFERSON COUNTY...NORTHEAST ROCK COUNTY AND NORTHERN WALWORTH
COUNTY SHOULD BE TAKING COVER IMMEDIATELY. PERSONS IN WAUKESHA
COUNTY SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE COVER. DO NOT GO OUTSIDE TO SEE THE
TORNADO. TAKE COVER NOW.

$$

GEHRING

[RevCheesehead]

6. Oh shit... my parents are in Whitewater.

And I grew up in Fort Atkinson. Hope everyone is OK.

[undeterred]

9. Call them and tell them to go in the basement or somewhere safe.

I hope they're ok.

[RevCheesehead]

11. The line's still busy.

But they live in a retirement apartment - I'm sure they're being informed on what's going on.

Any news on Jefferson County yet?

[halobeam]

14. Did you reach your parents yet??

[RevCheesehead]

18. No, I keep getting a busy signal.

I called a friend in Fort Atkinson, and she said the storms began around 6:30, and they're all without power.

She thought the staff at the apartment herded all the residents into the basement. Wouldn't be surprised if the phone lines were out, too.
Whitewater got a tornado warning at 8, and it's moved on into Waukesha county now.

She told me some place in Stoughton lost its roof - and pieces of insulation were falling in her son's yard - west of MILWAUKEE.

[halobeam]

25. I hope you reached your parents by now....

just thought I'd check in once more.

[Rude Horner]

5. Hi, undeterred

I live in Dodgeville Wisconsin. We escaped pretty much untouched here, but just to the north of us, Spring Green had a tornado. Actually, in the evening hours it seemed like they were dropping out of the skies left and right. Oregon, Stoughton, Spring Green, Avoca, Richland Center...the list goes on and on. Definitely scary around here for awhile.

[undeterred]

7. Whats weird is the sky was so calm and no rain

I drove north to K from Middleton/Madison and I heard the reports about Spring Green - but I kept going around lake Mendota to go home.

I didn't see threatening looking weather till an hour later but I'm guessing I wasn't that far away when McFarland got hit. What a night- I'm dreading what still might happen across the state and what we'll find out in the morning.

Hi, Rude Horner! :hi:

[TheMightyFavog]

8. I hope McFarland was't hit too bad. I have a friend who lives there.

He's one of the guys who works with me at the campus TV Station.

[undeterred]

10. I didn't see any damage reports

but an eyewitness said that a tornado touched down and it was a good sized one.

There were reports of cornstalks raining down in some parts of the state.

[undeterred]

12. Viola was hit according to this report- 70 miles nw of Madison

http://www.channel3000.com/news/4870008/detail.html

MADISON, Wis. -- Storms tore across central and southern Wisconsin Thursday afternoon and evening, triggering a series of tornado warnings, toppling trees and power lines and damaging buildings in some areas.

Among the hardest-hit areas was Viola, a community of some 650 people on the Richland-Vernon county line, 70 miles northwest of Madison. Residents said roofs were shorn off and trees uprooted when storm winds hit.

Viola Quick Stop owner Bill Bender said some houses are half gone and most trees were knocked down. Richland County sheriff's dispatchers have been too busy to give out information but they said there haven't been any reports of fatalities.

Downpours of rain accompanied the storms, which came after many areas received lighter rains and thunderstorms earlier Thursday. Those storms had knocked down power lines, causing outages in parts of the southwest, including Lafayette County.

[RevCheesehead]

13. Tornado in Outagamie Co now.

Moving northeast...moving into Green Bay/De Pere area.

Tornado touched down near New London.

[halobeam]

15. I just read the afternoonNOAA report for Outagamie......

said they didn't expect storms to be severe. Gees... we can't assume they know, although we'd like to. It happens so fast.

Hope everyone is alright.

[undeterred]

16. 24 confirmed tornadoes tonight!

I saw the video of the Stoughton tornado. It was HUGE. No confirmed reports of injuries or fatalities reported anywhere yet.

[joneschick]

17. linky? n/t

[undeterred]

19. Source is NBC television news in Madison

I can't find anything else yet.

Semitrailer truck rolled over on I-90 but no injuries.

http://www.wxow.com/news/publish/articles/article_2652.shtml

[RetroLounge]

20. Hope everyone is okay...

RL

[RevCheesehead]

21. I just spoke with my mom.

They had everyone go out into the hallway during the warning. Apparently, the phone lines were out for a while. Still waiting for reports to come in.

Here in Algoma, we've got plenty of rain, thunder and lightning. (enough to send Binky to the back of the closet). No warnings, though.

[halobeam]

26. Glad you spoke with her

I didn't read down the whole thread before ... my bad.

[RevCheesehead]

27. Thanks.

I think the phone lines were out during that time. She did hear me call her cell phone, but couldn't figure out how to turn it on. :)

[halobeam]

28. LOL... sounds like my dad.

Took him a year to learn he has "standby" mode.:eyes:

[gizmo1979]

22. reports 1 person dead.

many hurt.35 homes with significant damage 15 totally destroyed.This does not include viola.They were getting debris as far away as Milwaukee.That was one big ass storm.

[Cyndee_Lou_Who]

23. Wow... North-East Waukesha was totally spared. Hope all are safe!!

[undeterred]

24. Seems to have missed the more densely populated areas

or there would be more fatalities reported. Sounds like a lot of people in Stoughton got to a safe place in time, thank goodness. A church there burned down this week too.