Tornado Time

January of 2008 saw a moist and unstable weather system creep sneakily into southeastern Wisconsin. Soon it unleashed a tornado that blasted Kenosha County with winds up to 160 mph. More than 100 homes were damaged and 15 people were hurt, the worst injury being a broken arm. It was the nastiest such January incident in this state since 1967, but that record obscures the true nature of Wisconsin, which is a hotbed of tornadoes in the summer.

In 2007, Wisconsin ranked second among all states for tornadoes in June, second in July and fourth in August. Odds are the state will rank at least as high in 2008: According to the National Weather Service, 25 tornadoes had touched down in Wisconsin this year (as of July 1). ThatÕs well above the 16 twisters in all of 2007 and WisconsinÕs annual average of 21.

Nor is Milwaukee safe from such summer blowouts. A tornado
detection company, VorTek, assesses the nationÕs most tornado-prone cities and states, and found that for the month of July, Milwaukee ranks 12th (among cities with a population of 100,000 and higher).

“Tornadoes tend to move north in July,” says Dr. Frank Tatom, manager of VorTek. “It’s pretty consistent every year, as cities in Wisconsin and Minnesota start appearing on the list.”

VorTek has computed monthly National Weather Service data going back to 1950, and the results show that in June, July and August, Wisconsin ranks consistently in the top five states for tornadoes. The state also ranks in the top 20 for the months of April (at 18th) and May (13th).

VorTek has even named the most tornado-prone location in each of the 26 most afflicted states. Since 2003, a place approximately 20 miles west of Rhinelander has had that distinction in Wisconsin. Exactly 31 tornadoes have touched down or passed within 20 miles of the area since 1950. We noted no city at this spot on the map, but should one arise, may we suggest christening it Funnelville?