First responders searched homes and buildings on Tuesday for possible victims of a powerful tornado that ravaged several northeastern Wisconsin communities.
The Fox Cities region, which includes more than 100,000 people in the communities of Appleton, Menasha and Neenah, was left in shambles by Monday’s twister, with homes leveled, cars flipped, and power lines and trees toppled.
“The depth of the tornado and its impact is incredible, devastating. We’re really still at the assessment stage,” Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz said at a news conference Tuesday.
Authorities said the timing — the storm blew in when most people were awake and after warnings had been issued — could be why there have been no reported deaths, though some people were injured and officers were still going door-to-door in search of possible victims.
“Everybody was at work. It was the middle of the day,” Menasha Police Chief Matt Albrecht said. “Most people were not at home and at their place of employment.”
The tornado touched down around 1 p.m. and remained on the ground for more than 20 minutes, cutting a roughly 12-mile path of destruction, the National Weather Service reported. The area is about 100 miles northwest of Milwaukee.
It was classified as an EF3 tornado — the strongest tornado to strike both Outagamie and Winnebago counties since an EF4 touched down in April 1984, the weather service said.
Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency for the affected areas. Shelters were opened for displaced residents.
As chain saws roared in the background, Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford said a number of neighborhoods were “truly devastated.” Like elsewhere in the region, electricity lines were tangled around broken trees, making power restoration a slow, risky process.
More than 14,000 customers in Winnebago and Outagamie counties were still without power Tuesday afternoon, about 1,000 fewer than earlier in the day, according to PowerOutage.us. It could be several days before power is restored.
The twister was spun off by a large storm system that moved through the Great Lakes and was fueled by a buildup of heat and humidity, the weather service said.
“What we are seeing this summer is significant heat leading to significant severe weather,” said Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “We had an EF3 tornado in Wisconsin. People need to take these warnings seriously. It can happen just about anywhere.”
Authorities said Tuesday that they didn’t know exactly how many people were hurt. But ThedaCare Regional Medical Centers in Appleton and Neenah said it treated 40 people, mostly for minor storm-related injuries.
Heather Schroeder said she heard cracking and popping all around her as the twister tore apart a laundromat, bakery and tavern along a street corner in Menasha. Rescue workers pulled someone out of a building.
“There’s nothing left,” she said.
At Manderfield’s Home Bakery, a decades-old landmark, the brick frame around the door still stood, but not much more.
“This can be replaced,” owner Jerry Manderfield told WISN-TV. “We had people in the building that could possibly have died in there.”
Volunteers stepped up to try to ease the shock. Luigi’s Pizza in Menasha set up a food trailer to distribute hygiene packs and free slices after donors kicked in enough money to make at least 125 pizzas.
“Sometimes a hot pizza, a taco, and a reminder that your community cares can mean more than words,” said Duncan’s Window & Door, which chipped in for 50 pizzas.
Associated Press reporters Christopher Keller and Scott Bauer contributed to this story.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
