MILWAUKEE – The National Weather Service has confirmed that five tornadoes touched down during severe storms across southern Wisconsin Saturday evening.
Four of the tornadoes were rated EF-1, the second-lowest rating on the NWS scale, while the tornado that touched down near Janesville in Rock County was rated as an EF-2.
The first twister happened shortly after 7 p.m. in Dane County, two miles south of Marshall. The NWS said winds peaked around 105 miles per hour, damaging farms, homes and trees. The tornado lifted back up off the ground just south of Waterloo after traveling slightly over four and a half miles.
About 20 minutes later, another tornado developed west of Watertown near County Roads Q and T in Jefferson County. The tornado was on the ground for a little more than two miles, damaging more farms, homes and trees along West Road as it moved northeast. Winds also peaked around 105 miles per hour.
The third tornado touched down in Walworth County around 8:30 p.m. around two miles east of Fontana-on-Geneva Lake. Multiple trees were snapped and uprooted, piers were destroyed, and other structural damage occurred. Officials said the path started south of Geneva Lake, with the tornado then moving northeast before lifting south of Lake Como.
WTMJ’s Erik Bilstad was in Williams Bay, near where this tornado touched down:
At the same time, another tornado hit Walworth County, two miles east of Delavan. Winds peaked around 105 miles per hour but other data on this tornado has not been confirmed yet.
Survey crews remain in the field gathering data on the storms, with the NWS saying they expect to confirm at least one more tornado in the community of Argyle in Lafayette County.
The NWS said that the statewide tornado count in 2024 was at 27 before these storms. It now stands at 32 confirmed tornadoes so far this year.
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