Summer-like conditions with record temperatures lead to first Wisconsin tornadoes in February

By TODD RICHMOND and SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

EVANSVILLE, Wis. (AP) — The first tornadoes ever recorded in Wisconsin in the usually frigid month of February came on a day that broke records for warmth, the type of severe weather normally seen in the late spring and summer. The storms left a swath of destruction that included dead and missing cows, roofs blown off of homes, destroyed storage sheds and barns, trashed vehicles and shattered windows. At least two tornadoes were confirmed south of Madison, and the National Weather Service is investigating reports of several more spawned from storms that swept across the southeastern part of the state Thursday evening. National Weather Service meteorologist Taylor Patterson says “all of the ingredients” came together, including warm, moist air, to create storms that spawned the tornado.