Dangerous tornadoes hit the western Fox Cities

By STEVEN MARTINEZ

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

An estimated EF-2 tornado devastated the Fox Cities Monday, July 27, tearing through homes and businesses, downing power lines and closing major roadways.

The storm cells that produced the tornado blew across swathes of Wisconsin and included hurricane force winds and hailstones as large as 4 inches in diameter.

It prompted state of emergency and state of disaster declarations and a boiled water advisory from area municipalities.

Here’s what we know about the tornado and its aftermath.

Where did the tornado touch down in Wisconsin?

The tornado was spotted in the western Fox Cities around noon Monday.

City of Menasha and Village of Fox Crossing were hardest-hit areas.

How strong was the tornado that hit the Fox Cities?

Tornadoes are classified using what’s known as the EF scale, which factors in estimated wind speeds and related damage.

• EF-0: wind speeds 65 to 85 mph
• EF-1: wind speeds 86 to 110 mph
• EF-2: wind speeds 111 to 135 mph
• EF-3: wind speeds 136 to 165 mph
• EF-4: wind speeds 166 to 200 mph
• EF-5: wind speeds greater than 200 mph

The National Weather Service estimated the strength of the tornado at an EF-2 intensity. That means the tornado produced wind gusts between 111 and 135 mph. It resulted in catastrophic damage, leaving some area neighborhoods unrecognizable.

Those wind speeds are equivalent to what would be produced by a category 3 or 4 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

What was the path of the Menasha tornado?

No official information about the tornado’s path is available as of Tuesday morning, July 28. The NWS said storm surveys are ongoing and additional information will be released as assessments are completed. Officials advised that it could take several days for damage surveys to be finalized.

However, Menasha Mayor Austin Hammond said that, to his knowledge, the tornado touched down near Ninth and Racine streets, as it worked its way past Appleton Road and up toward the former UWO-Fox Cities campus; with additional damage throughout the city toward Doty Island.

What was the damage from the Fox Cities tornado?

Official damage reports are pending, but photos and videos of the affected areas show massive destruction to infrastructure, homes, businesses and utilities.

Manderfield’s Home Bakery in Menasha was destroyed in the storm.

Tens of thousands of utility customers lost power during the storm. As of 7:35 a.m. Tuesday, more than 11,000 customers in Appleton, about 2,700 in Neenah and around 1,600 in Menasha were still without power.

Outages across Wisconsin Tuesday morning totaled nearly 46,000, according to We Energies’ online outage map.

Has Wisconsin ever had an EF-5 tornado?

Yes, Wisconsin has had three EF-5 tornados since the state started keeping track of them in 1950.

According to those records, an EF-5 tornado, the deadliest in Wisconsin’s history, hit Colfax on June 4, 1958. Another EF-5 touched down Barneveld on June 8, 1984. The third EF-5 hit Oakfield on July 18, 1996.