Tornado damages Wisconsin towns, leaves thousands without power

A tornado touched down in Winnebago County, about 90 miles northwest of Milwaukee, on Monday, tearing roofs from homes, overturning vehicles and knocking out electricity for over 30,000 people in the Fox Cities region. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 11:59 a.m. for Appleton, Menasha and Neenah, and radar confirmed the twister moved over Lake Winnebago before heading south toward Fond du Lac County around 12:25 p.m.

Local officials reported widespread damage but no confirmed injuries or fatalities. "Obviously, the footage looks devastating," Winnebago County’s top elected official Gordon Hintz said, adding that power lines were down and some buildings were completely destroyed. Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson described the damage in Menasha and Fox Crossing as "extensive and severe" and urged residents to stay indoors and avoid travel.

Emergency responders opened a shelter at a Menasha church for residents who could not remain in their homes. The Appleton Police Department noted numerous downed trees and traffic signal outages, while the Menasha Police Department asked the public to watch for downed power lines and avoid road closures.

National Weather Service meteorologist Holley Kamba said reports continue to come in of trees, power lines and structural damage across southern Outagamie and eastern Winnebago counties. The agency warned that severe weather is expected to persist in east-central and southeastern Wisconsin through the afternoon, with the potential for strong winds, hail and another brief tornado.