Tornado And Torrential Rain Cross Through Southern Wisconsin

The National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan has confirmed an EF-1 tornado was part of Tuesday night’s storm that damaged homes and led to flooding in some parts of Wisconsin.

The office said it had sent survey teams to inspect damage in Wales, Fort Atkinson and Belleville. It confirmed Wednesday afternoon that an EF-1 had brought winds of 100 mph to the area.

In Fort Atkinson, roofs were damaged, windows were blown out and trees knocked over.

WKOW-TV reported toppled trees in Belleville caused a residential gas leak and led neighbors to evacuate to the local high school.

Rivers in the state could see minor to moderate flooding over the next few days, and the risk of flash floods continues.

Meteorologist Taylor Patterson of the Milwaukee/Sullivan office said these storms are part of a weather pattern that’s persisted through the week.

“We’re stuck in a warm sector of air that was bringing tropical moisture from the Gulf, so we actually did have some severe weather come through,” she said.

Patterson said the state may see a break in the rain for the end of the week, but wet weather is likely to return by the weekend.

Sheboygan police and Dodge County sheriff’s officials reported multiple road closures this morning.

In Ozaukee County, emergency managers said flooding has made roads impassable in the northern part of the county.

Meteorologist Scott Berschback with the weather service’s Green Bay office said as of Tuesday, the city had received 39.99 inches of precipitation, passing the record set last year.

“And we received more rain early this morning as well, so we’re now over 40 inches for the year,” he added.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with original reporting from WPR.