Raining Corn Stalks

Tornadoes over Stoughton, WI

Thursday, August 18, 2005

(Picture from Channel27 news site)

Serious weather passing through Southern Wisconsin yesterday. It began with a rousing round of severe thunderstorms around 8 in the morning, skies so dark I thought it must be about 6am until I looked at the clock. I relaxed into my pillows and blanket, grateful I had the day off and could enjoy listening to the storm. When I awoke again around 10, the storms had passed, the sun bright in a near cloudless sea of blue. As the day wore on, the warm temps and high humidity following the rain made for steamy, sticky conditions.

It also made it ripe for what was to follow.

The first break into regular television programming came about 4:45 pm, telling us of impending storms moving at 40 miles per hour and bearing down on the Southern Wisconsin viewing area with a vengeance. A severe thunderstorm watch was now in effect. When the local news began fifteen minutes later, they went right to the chief meteorologist for an update. The Severe t-storm was now a warning and there was now a tornado watch as well. Within seconds, though, the tornado watch was upgraded to a warning and sirens sounded throughout the area.

A watch means conditions are right for a severe storm or tornado; a warning means, "Take cover now!"

For the next couple hours we sat riveted to the TV, listening to continuous reports as the expert news and weather team tracked the storm systems. The tornado warning was extended not once, but three times! There were three cells of initial concern. One dissipated over southcentral Wisconsin; the other two converged near Madison. A wary eye to the skies, we listened as the sightings of funnels, wall clouds and tornadoes came in. First from Spring Green in Richland Cunty, just northeast of Dane. A twister left one man's house standing, but flattened every tree in the front yard, just missing his truck before hopping over the road and retracting back into the clouds. The roof of an assisted living center was also damaged, and there was word that trees were bowled over at a campground outside Muscoda (MUSS-ka-day).

More sightings were coming in, and we listened as the towns grew closer, a knot forming in my stomach from all the tension and excitement. Viola, Avoca, Bloom City...and then -- Lodi. Eek! And soon after that, Deforest, both on the northern edge of the city. Before they could zoom in on the map to highlight where the tornadoes had been reported, another was seen traveling along Hwy 14 and Cty M near Oregon. Then there was a sighting in Fitchburg (I'm on the border of Madison and Fitchburg!), followed by a report of a funnel seen near the recycling center on Fish Hatchery Road. Holy...! That was not only within the city, but about a mile from home and one of the locations a tornado skipping through the west side of Madison had touched down June 2004. Thankfully, Madison was spared this time around, only sustaining heavy rain and some high winds, but area communities did not fair as well.

Another tornado was spotted just north of McFarland, near the town of Dunn, and one of the station's storm chasers reported that it was "raining corn stalks" along Hwy 51 heading south into Stoughton. The ominous wall cloud moving eastward stalled over the area, winds rotating in a circular pattern and spawning more funnels and tornadoes between McFarland and Stoughton (STO-ton), stretching farther east to Fort Atkinson.

Wisconsin experiences an average of 20 tornadoes a year; there were 26 this night alone!

It wasn't until 7:15 that the tornado warning over most of Dane County was lifted, though it was extended for the eastern edge of the county as that giant wall cloud slowly moved through the area. Hwy 51 was closed between McFarland and Stoughton due to debris, ruptured gas lines, and to allow emergency vehicles through. There was a semi blown over on Interstate 90, but most of the damage was contained to Stoughton where at least a dozen homes were demolished and about three dozen more damaged. There were also reports of 20 injured and, unfortunately, one death. They showed aerial footage on the late news cast, taken from a private plane and sent in to the news station. The devastation is unbelievable! The Weather Channel was tentatively listing it as a F3 tornado, though that could change depending on extent of the damage as ascertained over the next couple of days. The one that came through Madison last summer was a F1.

An aerial view of Stoughton, following the tornadoes

(Picture from Madison.com)

They kept talking about that large wall cloud and how awesome it was. After the rain had stopped (about 7:30), I grabbed the camera and headed out to have a look at it myself. The only problem is that I live on a tree-infested hillside criss-crossed by power lines. From the small parking lot next to our building I could see the clouds stretching behind the building across the way. I had to walk a few blocks to get an unobstructed view of the clouds hanging over Stoughton some 20 minutes south of Madison, and even then there were still a lot of trees and roof tops in the way. Still, the view was better than it had been atop the hill.

The cloud stretched across the horizon and towered above the region. It was breathtaking, the way it was litl up golden in some spots, grayish in others where you could see the tell-tale signs of rain. There was one high column on the southern edge of the clouds that had a hole in the center and you could see a narrow patch of blue sky through it. Amazing, yet at the same time rather eerie, considering the havoc it was wreaking on Stoughton. I shot half a roll of film and found myself wishing I had a digital camera so I wouldn't have to wait to see how they turned out -- or to share them. Hopefully I can use up the rest of this roll ASAP and get some pics posted here.

Thankfully, though more storms are possible today, they don't expect quite the weather we had Thursday night. No tornadoes, just t-storms and hail in some areas. Let's hope they're right!