Wisconsin tornadoes: Rare but potent in November
Wisconsin tornadoes are a rare November event. But there were no serious injuries when two tornadoes swept through southern Wisconsin damaging dozens of buildings on Monday and Tuesday.
A roof was torn off a building at the Racine County Fairgrounds in Union Grove during Monday evening's tornado.
Kenosha News, Kevin Poirier/AP
UNION GROVE, Wis
The village president of Union Grove says it looks like the most damage from a tornado that touched down on Monday hit an industrial area near the Racine Fairgrounds.
A second tornado – 100 yards wide – damaged eight buildings, including four homes, in Walworth County, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The paper reports that November tornadoes are rare in Wisconsin; the last hit in 1971.
The Union Grove tornado left debris scattered on I-94, forcing police to shut down the highway in Racine County.
Village President Mike Aimone viewed damaged from a Wisconsin National Guard helicopter on Tuesday. Aimone tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that surveying the damage made him realize how fortunate the village of 4,700 people were that it wasn't a more severe catastrophe.
No serious injuries have been reported. No damage estimate was available Tuesday. But clean up had begun.
About 100 homes were damaged in Union Grove from the twister that has been rated EF-1 with winds between 86 and 110 mph.
Racine County Executive William McReynolds has declared a state of emergency to allow the possibility of requesting disaster relief.