Wisconsin has been hit with its first-ever February tornado
MADISON, Wis. — The first-ever February tornado for the state of Wisconsin was spotted Thursday just south of Madison, the National Weather Service confirmed.
It was the first time a tornado was confirmed during the second month of the year in the state since records have been kept, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Rock County officials, in the area where the tornado was reported, initially received reports of about 25 buildings, power lines or other structures damaged.
“Created quite a bit of trees down, powerlines down and houses damaged,” Sheriff Curtis Fell, Rock County Sheriff’s Department said. “Right now we’re looking anywhere from about six to eight homes that we know for sure have been damaged, and we have people out checking. We’re going to have people going door to door to confirm houses have been evacuated as well as anybody that needs some assistance, we’re trying to take care of that at the same time.”
There were no immediate reports of injuries though, Mark Elland, a shift supervisor at the Rock County 911 center, told the Wisconsin State Journal. Minor injuries were reported as of early Friday. He said there had been “numerous reports of tornado activity, funnel clouds,” including reports from law enforcement of a tornado touching down in several areas of the county.