‘Extremely dangerous’ tornado rips roofs off homes and knocks out power for thousands in northeast Wisconsin
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By Meteorologist Dakota Smith, Rebekah Riess, CNN
(CNN) — A tornado carved a path of destruction through parts of Menasha and Appleton, Wisconsin, with little advanced warning on Monday afternoon, damaging homes, uprooting trees and knocking out power to thousands.
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The tornado had estimated peak winds of 140 mph and received a preliminary EF3 rating, the National Weather Service said, citing its damage survey and drone video.
Tornadoes were not expected to be a significant threat to the area on Monday. A severe thunderstorm warning mentioning damaging winds was issued at 11:13 a.m.; the possibility of a tornado wasn’t mentioned until an update to the warning at 11:21 a.m., meaning there was no tornado warning in advance of the tornado itself, according to a CNN analysis.
The NWS issued the first tornado warning for Appleton and Menasha at 11:59 a.m. CT Monday, approximately three minutes after the tornado first touched down, preliminary reports from NWS Green Bay indicate.
The NWS described the tornado as “extremely dangerous” and issued a particularly dangerous situation tornado warning — the second-highest level warning — shortly after 12 p.m. CT.
After hitting Menasha, the tornado moved over Lake Winnebago and dissipated over water. It was observed for at least 20 minutes from near Appleton to the northern coast of the lake.
Homes in Appleton were completely destroyed with roofs ripped off, and trees uprooted and split, drone footage showed.
A local state of disaster was declared in Menasha as first responders from local agencies worked to assess the damage and rescue anyone needing assistance. The nearby city of Neenah also declared a state of emergency due to “structural damage to buildings, downed trees and power lines, disruptions to utility service, and impacts to roadways.”
The Menasha Police Department has issued a city-wide curfew from 10:00 p.m. through 5:00 a.m., “until further notice.” A boil water order was also issued for the community.
Video from Menasha obtained by CNN shows homes missing parts of roofs, structures stripped of their exteriors amid piles of debris, downed power poles and uprooted trees. In one video, a vehicle is seen flipped over next to a road.
“We are aware of severe damage in broad areas. We are asking the public to stay indoors, watch out for downed power lines, do not drive around road closures, and do not drive around the area unless absolutely necessary,” the Menasha Police Department posted on Facebook Monday afternoon.
The entire city of Menasha may be without power “for days” due to the extent of damage across the city and downed transmission lines, according to a post from Menasha Utilities, a municipally owned company. More than 7,000 customers remain without power in Winnebago and Calumet counties, where Menasha is located, as of Tuesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 8,800 customers are without power in neighboring Outagamie County, where Appleton is primarily located.
CNN has reached out to authorities for more information.
Earlier on Monday, a 29-year-old man was killed in Whitewater, Wisconsin, from a suspected lightning strike as storms moved across the area, according to a news release from Whitewater Fire and EMS. The man was part of a tree trimming crew for an area energy utility.
“The supervisor of the crew reported that there was a ‘loud bang and a flash’ and they believed the tree had been struck by lightning,” just before 10 a.m. local time, according to the release. Police and the Walworth County Medical Examiner are still investigating.
More than 300,000 customers remain without power in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana after severe thunderstorms with damaging winds tracked across the entire region.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Sharif Paget and Ritu Prasad contributed to this report.
