Stoughton Tornado, Record Oubreak, August 18, 2005

A surface low pressure system was located over extreme southeast Minnesota early in the afternoon on Thursday, August 18, 2005. A warm front extended east southeast from the low and had dewpoints pooling in the lower 70s along it. The surface low moved east into east central Wisconsin by 10 PM CDT that evening. Favorable wind shear associated with the warm front, combined with the strong instability supplied by the heat and humidity resulted in a record outbreak of 27 tornadoes across Wisconsin in the late afternoon and evening. The previous record of 24 tornadoes was set on May 8, 1988.

The Storm Prediction Center issued the first tornado watch at 251 PM CDT for the counties of Marquette, Green Lake, Sauk, Columbia, Iowa, Dane, Lafayette and Green. A second tornado watch was issued at 551 PM CDT for the remainder of South Central and Southeast Wisconsin. The first tornado touch down in the NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan County Warning Area was at 455 PM CDT - in northwest Iowa County, near Avoca.

There were 16 confirmed tornadoes in the NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan County Warning Area, 5 confirmed tornadoes in the NWS Green Bay County Warning Area and 6 confirmed tornadoes in the NWS La Crosse County Warning Area. Here is a map of the tornado touch down locations across the state for August 18, 2005.

Click to see a composite hourly radar loop from 1:41 PM CDT to 10:39 PM CDT.

Sauk County Details

5:21 PM CDT Reflectivity

5:21 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.

5:54 PM CDT Reflectivity

5:54 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.

Maps and Damage Images

Tornado Plot

TORNADO ONE...
   BEGINNING TIME     530 PM                PATH LENGTH  1.9 MILES
   ENDING TIME        533 PM                MAX WIDTH    75 YARDS
   DURATION           3 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 1.5 SSW SPRING GREEN  INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    0.5 ENE SPRING GREEN  F-SCALE      F1

TORNADO TWO...
   BEGINNING TIME     540 PM                PATH LENGTH  10.0 MILES
   ENDING TIME        603 PM                MAX WIDTH    200 YARDS
   DURATION           23 MINUTES            DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 3.0 W BLUFFVIEW       INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    3.2 SW OKEE           F-SCALE      F2
                         /COLUMBIA CO./

TORNADO THREE...					 
   BEGINNING TIME     600 PM                PATH LENGTH  1.0 MILES
   ENDING TIME        605 PM                MAX WIDTH    75 YARDS
   DURATION           5 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 1.8 W MERRIMAC        INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    1.0 WSW MERRIMAC      F-SCALE      F0

Iowa County Details

Tornado Plot	5:10 PM CDT Reflectivity	5:10 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.	Tornado Viewed from west

TORNADO ONE...
   BEGINNING TIME     455 PM                PATH LENGTH  0.1 MILE
   ENDING TIME        455 PM                MAX WIDTH    50 YARDS
   DURATION           BRIEF                 DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 2.5 ENE AVOCA         INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    2.5 ENE AVOCA         F-SCALE      F0

TORNADO TWO...
   BEGINNING TIME     518 PM                PATH LENGTH  6.5 MILES
   ENDING TIME        533 PM                MAX WIDTH    100 YARDS
   DURATION           15 MINUTES            DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 1.8 NNE CLYDE         INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    4.5 NE CLYDE          F-SCALE      F1
                         /SAUK CO./

Marquette County Details

6:23 PM CDT Reflectivity	6:23 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.	Tornado Plot

TORNADO ONE...
   BEGINNING TIME     608 PM                PATH LENGTH  5.5 MILES
   ENDING TIME        622 PM                MAX WIDTH    100 YARDS
   DURATION           14 MINUTES            DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 1.7 NNE WESTFIELD     INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    7.2 NNE WESTFIELD     F-SCALE      F1

Columbia County Details

Tornado Plot

5:54 PM CDT Reflectivity

5:54 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.

TORNADO ONE...
   BEGINNING TIME     610 PM                PATH LENGTH  0.1 MILE
   ENDING TIME        611 PM                MAX WIDTH    50 YARDS
   DURATION           BRIEF                 DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 4.5 NNE LODI          INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    4.5 NNE LODI          F-SCALE      F0

Dane County Details

6:10 PM CDT Reflectivity

6:10 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.

6:37 PM CDT Reflectivity

6:37 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.

Tornado Plot

TORNADO ONE...
   BEGINNING TIME     615 PM                PATH LENGTH  20.0 MILES
   ENDING TIME        708 PM                MAX WIDTH    1/2 MILE
   DURATION           53 MINUTES            DEATHS       1
   BEGINNING LOCATION 2.0 N OREGON          INJURIES     21
   ENDING LOCATION    2.2 N BUSSEYVILLE     F-SCALE      F3
                         /JEFFERSON CO./
TORNADO TWO...
   BEGINNING TIME     617 PM                PATH LENGTH  2.0 MILES
   ENDING TIME        621 PM                MAX WIDTH    30 YARDS
   DURATION           4 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 2.0 WSW DANE          INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    0.8 N DANE            F-SCALE      F0
   
TORNADO THREE...						 
   BEGINNING TIME     710 PM                PATH LENGTH  1.6 MILES
   ENDING TIME        715 PM                MAX WIDTH    100 YARDS
   DURATION           5 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 1.6 SSW ROCKDALE      INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    1.3 SSE ROCKDALE      F-SCALE      F1

Jefferson County Details

7:15 PM CDT Reflectivity

7:15 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.

7:40 PM CDT Reflectivity

7:40 PM CDT Storm Relative Vel.

Tornado Plot

TORNADO ONE...
   BEGINNING TIME     715 PM                PATH LENGTH  0.5 MILE
   ENDING TIME        717 PM                MAX WIDTH    50 YARDS
   DURATION           2 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 5 W FORT ATKINSON     INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    4.8 W FORT ATKINSON   F-SCALE      F0

TORNADO TWO...   
   BEGINNING TIME     720 PM                PATH LENGTH  0.7 MILE
   ENDING TIME        723 PM                MAX WIDTH    50 YARDS
   DURATION           3 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 5 W FORT ATKINSON     INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    4 W FORT ATKINSON     F-SCALE      F1

TORNADO THREE...
   BEGINNING TIME     727 PM                PATH LENGTH  1.2 MILES
   ENDING TIME        732 PM                MAX WIDTH    50 YARDS
   DURATION           5 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 3.6 WSW FT ATKINSON   INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    3.0 WSW FT ATKINSON   F-SCALE      F1

TORNADO FOUR...   
   BEGINNING TIME     737 PM                PATH LENGTH  1.4 MILES
   ENDING TIME        741 PM                MAX WIDTH    50 YARDS
   DURATION           5 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 1.5 SSW FT ATKINSON   INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    1.4 SSE FT ATKINSON   F-SCALE      F1

TORNADO FIVE...   
   BEGINNING TIME     744 PM                PATH LENGTH  3.0 MILES
   ENDING TIME        753 PM                MAX WIDTH    100 YARDS
   DURATION           9 MINUTES             DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 5.6 SSW FT ATKINSON   INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    5.5 S FT ATKINSON     F-SCALE      F1

TORNADO SIX...   
   BEGINNING TIME     745 PM                PATH LENGTH  0.2 MILE
   ENDING TIME        746 PM                MAX WIDTH    50 YARDS
   DURATION           1 MINUTE              DEATHS       0
   BEGINNING LOCATION 3.2 SE FT ATKINSON    INJURIES     0
   ENDING LOCATION    3.4 SE FT ATKINSON    F-SCALE      F0


...ROCK...WALWORTH AND RACINE COUNTIES...
NO TORNADO DAMAGE WAS FOUND. THERE WERE A FEW LARGE TREE BRANCHES
DOWN JUST WEST OF WATERFORD ON HIGHWAY 20 AND JUST WEST OF LA GRANGE
ON HIGHWAY 12. THIS TREE DAMAGE WAS NOT PRODUCED BY A TORNADO...BUT
BY STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS GUSTING BETWEEN 60 AND 70 MPH. NICKEL
SIZED HAIL WAS ALSO REPORTED JUST EAST OF EAST TROY AT INTERSTATE 43
AND HIGHWAY 20 AND IN THE CITY OF RACINE.