Taylor County, WI Tornadoes

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Background Information	Statistics (1850-Present)	Records (1850-Present)

Taylor County (WI) Tornadoes*
1850-2020

Date			Time	Location	Other Counties Affected	Length (miles)	Width (yards)	Deaths**	Injuries**	EF-Scale
Month	Day	Year	Time	Location	Other Counties Affected	Length (miles)	Width (yards)	Deaths**	Injuries**	EF-Scale
6	4	2005	1927-1931 CST	Gilman 2W	None	0.3	25	0	0	F1
			This was the third and final tornado in Clark and Taylor Counties. It damaged a residence, overturned a few trees, and blew a boat and some debris from nearby buildings into a field just west of Gilman. This tornado caused approximately $8,000 in property damage and $5,000 in crop damage.
6	4	2005	1617-1620 CST	Medford 4NW	None	0.2	20	0	0	F0
			This was the second of 3 tornadoes in Clark and Taylor Counties. It damaged a house and nearby trees just northwest of Medford. This tornado caused approximately $25,000 in property damage.
9	30	2002	1745-1750 CST	Chelsea 2SW to Chelsea 1.5SW	None	0.5	100	0	0	F0
			A tornado touched down 2 miles southwest of Chelsea. The tornado caused damage to a residence near the intersection of Fox Avenue and Settlement Road. A barn and numerous trees were also downed. There were no injuries or deaths reported. The tornado was on the ground for about one-half mile and was approximately 100 yards wide as it moved northeast. The parent thunderstorm continued northeast after the tornado lifted causing numerous funnels and sporadic tree damage from about 1.5 miles southwest of Chelsea through 3 miles east of Westboro. These downburst winds were estimated at 60 to 70 mph. However, no further tornadoes were confirmed along this path. It was estimated that the storm caused $20,000 in property damage and $5,000 in crop damage.
9	2	2002	1610-1650 CST	Gilman 1NW to Medford 7W	None	17	75	0	0	F2
			A tornado touched down about a mile northwest of Gilman and moved southeast into the village a couple of minutes later. A few trees and homes were lightly damaged before the tornado hit the Gilman school. The roof was blown off the school gymnasium, where the high school football team had been seeking cover a minute moving into the hallways and interior rooms. Debris was blown from the school onto the nearby football field and into homes east of Gilman. The tornado kept tracking southeast into the Chequamegon National Forest producing occasional house damage and knocking down hundreds of of trees. The path of the storm crossed Trucker Lane, Winter Sports Road and damaged several homes near Sawyer Avenue as it increased in size and strength. The worst damage was when the top story house was completely removed along Sawyer Avenue shortly before the tornado dissipated before crossing Highway 64 west of Medford. There were no reports of deaths or injuires. The tornado caused an estimated $3.9 million in property damage.
7	30	1977	1900-1945 CST	Cornell 1NW to Hawkins 2S	Chippewa Rusk	31	1000	1	8	F2
			A very wide and strong tornado touched down 1 mile northwest of Cornell and moved eastward across County Highway CC and the Chippewa River. The tornado then moved across Highway 27 north of Fisher Rd about 1 mile southeast of Holcombe. One fatality occurred southeast of Holcombe when a car was picked up on Highway 27 and dropped about 70 yards off the Highway. It was reported that the body was recovered about 1,000 yards from the vehicle. About 25 homes received considerable damage in the northwest outskirts of Cornell and 5 homes were destroyed. The tornado continued to move and skip northeastward to near the intersection of County Highways M and G moving into the extreme northeast corner of Chippewa County. The tornado then continued northeastward and passed through the extreme northwest corner of Taylor County and moved along Highway 194. Damages, totaling around a $500,000 occurred to mostly farm buildings along this portion of the tornado's path. The damage was confined to the Townships of McKinley and Jump River. The tornado continued to move to the east of Highway 73 and entered southeast Rusk County causing about $250,000 damage to farm buildings, crops, and timber. The southern part of Lawrence Township was damaged. Some damage was also reported in Hawkins Township. The tornado finally lifted about 2 miles south of Hawkins. There were 4 other tornadoes between 5:20 PM and 10:45 PM. They impacted St. Croix, Polk, Barron, Chippewa, & Brown counties. Their intensities were F1 (2), F3, & F4. The strongest tornado (Bloomer tornado - F4) in this outbreak tracked northeast across northern & western Chippewa County.
6	26	1969	1635 CST	near Medford	Clark	28.6	?	?	?	F1
			Major damage occurred at the Taylor County Airport near Medford.
7	3	1966	1730 CST	Polley	None	1	50	0	1	F2
			Two barns were leveled.
6	29	1966	1545 CST	Rib Lake	None	?	?	0	0	F2
			Barns were leveled northeast of Rib Lake.
7	6	1964	0615 CST	Medford 2.5NW	None	3.3	?	0	2	F2
			Tornado touched down several times
8	27	1960	2045 CST	Medford 3N	None	2	?	0	0	F1
			Tornado briefly touched the ground
5	10	1953	1920-2000 CST	Hannibal	Rusk Price	45	200	0	2	F4
			This storm tracked north-northeast to 7 miles north of Phillips (Price Co.), but the damage path was not continuous. One farm house was leveled and pieces of it were found 7 miles away. The tornado was most intense in Price County where F4 damage was witnessed for 12 miles. Over $150,000 worth of damage.
3	27	1945	1930 CST	Medford 8SW	None	2	??	0	1	F3
			A farmhouse and barn were "obliterated" from this tornado moving east-northeast.
9	21	1924	1430 CST	Augusta 2ESE to Chelsea 2N	Clark Eau Claire	65	400	18	50	F4
			What was probably a family of tornadoes moved northeast from near Augusta (Eau Claire County) to 10 miles southwest of Thorp (Clark County) to north of Chelsea (Taylor Co.). Near Rib Lake, at least 20 farms were destroyed or altogether obliterated. Thirty other farms were damaged. Fourteen people were killed in Clark County and four in Taylor County. The lack of alignment in the positions of destroyed farms, in the Withee-Thorp-Owen area hint strongly that more than one tornado was involved. Four people died and 13 were injured in that area at a Sunday School meeting in a farm house. One entire wall of a home was reportedly carried for 14 miles. Damage may have been F5 intensity 4 miles south of Thorp and north of Withee near the county border. Damage estimates were $229,000.
* The data in this table came from *Storm Data,* *Significant Tornadoes--1680-1991* by Thomas P. Grazulis, and *Wisconsin Tornado Database 1950-2000* Geographic Techniques Report No. ST-WTDB01. ** Injuries and Deaths are for the entire tornado track.

Last Updated Wednesday, July 29, 2020 - Jeff Boyne

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