First responders searched homes and buildings on Tuesday for possible victims of a powerful tornado that ravaged several northeastern Wisconsin communities.
The Fox Cities region, which is home to more than 100,000 people in the communities of Appleton, Menasha and Neenah, was left in shambles by Monday's twister, with homes leveled, cars flipped, and power lines and trees toppled.
“The depth of the tornado and its impact is incredible, devastating. We’re really still at the assessment stage,” Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz said at a news conference Tuesday.
Authorities said the timing — the storm arrived in the early afternoon, when most people were awake and after warnings had been issued — could be why there have been no reported deaths.
“Everybody was at work. It was the middle of the day," Menasha Police Chief Matt Albrecht said. "Most people were not at home and at their place of employment.”
Dozens of people were injured, and officers were still going door-to-door a day later in search of possible victims.
The tornado touched down around 1 p.m. and remained on the ground for more than 20 minutes, cutting a roughly 12-mile (19.3-kilometer) path of destruction, the National Weather Service reported. The area is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.
It was classified as an EF3 tornado — the strongest to strike Outagamie and Winnebago counties since an EF4 touched down in April 1984, the weather service said.
A relatively powerful twister
Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency for the affected areas. Shelters were opened for displaced residents.
As chain saws roared in the background, Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford said a number of neighborhoods were “truly devastated.” Like elsewhere in the region, electricity lines were tangled around broken trees, making power restoration a slow, risky process.
More than 10,000 customers in Winnebago and Outagamie counties were still without power Tuesday afternoon, according to utilities that serve them. It could be several days before power is restored.
The twister was spun off by a large storm system that moved through the Great Lakes and was fueled by a buildup of heat and humidity, the weather service said.
“What we are seeing this summer is significant heat leading to significant severe weather,” said Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “We had an EF3 tornado in Wisconsin. People need to take these warnings seriously. It can happen just about anywhere.”
Residents describe terrifying moments
ThedaCare Regional Medical Centers in Appleton and Neenah said it treated 40 people, mostly for minor storm-related injuries. Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton said it saw about 30 patients, all with minor injuries.
Rachel Bernhardt, 56, said she grabbed her dog and dashed to her basement in the village of Fox Crossing after she saw a steel swing spinning in the yard. After the storm passed, her second-floor bedroom was covered in glass and a tree branch was resting on her bed.
“We can’t be in there anymore,” said Bernhardt, who is sleeping on the first floor and using a generator to keep the refrigerator going. “In fact, I’m going to caution-tape that off.”
At Manderfield’s Home Bakery, a decades-old landmark in Menasha, the brick frame around the door still stood, but not much more.
“This can be replaced,” owner Jerry Manderfield told WISN-TV. “We had people in the building that could possibly have died in there.”
Volunteers stepped up to try to ease the shock. Luigi’s Pizza in Menasha set up a food trailer to distribute hygiene packs and free slices after donors kicked in enough money to make at least 125 pizzas.
“Sometimes a hot pizza, a taco, and a reminder that your community cares can mean more than words,” said Duncan’s Window & Door, which chipped in for 50 pizzas.
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Associated Press reporters Christopher Keller and Scott Bauer contributed to this story.
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