Severe Thunderstorms and Tornado Hit North-Central Wisconsin

Overview

During the evening of May 16, 2017, thunderstorms developed near a warm front that was slowly pushing north across Wisconsin. The storms produced high winds, large hail, and at least two tornadoes in the state. A large supercell thunderstorm produced a long-track tornado across the western part of Wisconsin, killing one person near Chetek and injuring 25 others.

Several storms in central and north-central Wisconsin produced damaging winds and hail. A weak tornado uprooted at least 1000 trees south of Rhinelander near the Oneida/Langlade County line. The same thunderstorm produced 2 inch diameter hail near Pelican Lake.

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Tornado
Damage Photos
Storm Reports
Radar Imagery

Tornado Information

Tornado - Oneida County

Date	May 16, 2017
Time (Local)	8:12 PM
EF Rating	EF0
Est. Peak Winds	85 mph
Path Length	1/3 mile
Max Width	175 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: A brief tornado developed in association with a supercell thunderstorm over far southern Oneida County.

Track Map

Tornado location

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Damage Photo

Here is an image from drone footage of the tornado damage. Click photo for a larger image.


Tornado moved left to right (west-east) in the picture. Damage was just north of Highway Q.

Storm Reports

Here is a map of the reported severe weather on May 16.

The largest hail reported was 2 inches in diameter near Pelican Lake. The storm that produced the hail was the same cell that produced the tornado in southern Oneida County.

Radar Imagery

Here is a radar image (reflectivity and velocity) of the supercell storm that produced the tornado shortly after 8:10 PM.

Radar

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