Highlights Archives
Summertime Means Tornado Time
As every Wisconsinite knows, spring and summer bring warm temperatures as well as the familiar whine of the tornado siren. Tornadoes are the most violent storms on Earth. Wisconsin's tornado seasons runs from April through September with the greatest number occurring in May, June and July. Most tornadoes happen in mid-afternoon or early evening, but they can strike at any time and often with little or no warning.
Although Wisconsin is not considered a part of "Tornado Alley," the state has had a number of devastating tornadoes in its history. On June 28, 1865, 17 people were killed and 150 wounded when a tornado struck the Viroqua area in Vernon County, one of Wisconsin's earliest recorded tornadoes. A sudden storm at Green Lake in 1873 capsized several boats, and 11 people drowned. An April 1880 storm in Waterville, recalled here by John E. Thomas, flung Thomas' lamb into a tree and his daughter Ruth into Scuppernong Creek. In Racine, more than 100 homes were destroyed and nine people were killed in a May 1883 tornado.
Perhaps the worst tornado in Wisconsin history, however, occurred on the afternoon of June 12, 1899, in the little town of New Richmond, in St. Croix County. Because the circus was in town, more people than usual filled the town's streets, not wanting to miss the parade and "monster menagerie" promised by the Gollmar Bros. Circus. With a deafening roar, the tornado that had begun as a water spout on Lake St. Croix swept the length of New Richmond and completely leveled everything within a strip of land more than 1,000 feet wide. Only the extreme western edge of town escaped damage. The strength of the winds blew a 3,000-pound safe more than a block away. When it was over, more than 300 buildings were destroyed and 200 people were injured; 117 people died. One of the survivors, Mrs. A.G. Boehm, published an account of the tornado in 1900 that includes firsthand accounts from New Richmond residents as well as a damage report submitted to the governor for relief money.
The 20th century saw its share of disastrous tornadoes as well. The year 1924 was particularly deadly, with 43 recorded deaths, primarily from a series of tornadoes that ripped across northern Wisconsin on September 21. A widespread outbreak of severe weather in the Midwest on April 3, 1956, spawned an early afternoon tornado in Berlin that killed seven and injured 50. John Sands, president of Sands Knitting Mills in Berlin, recalled the suddenness of the storm: "I felt a sudden pressure in my ears and before I knew it, cement blocks, machines, and people were floating around on the ceiling!" The June 1984 tornado in Barneveld destroyed the myth that tornadoes do not happen after dark. The violent night storm left nine people dead and did $40 million in damages.
Wisconsin averages around 20 tornadoes each year, but last August a record-breaking 27 tornadoes tore across Wisconsin on a single day, heavily damaging the Stoughton area.
:: Posted June 7, 2006
|
