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Multiple tornadoes touch down in Wis.

Updated: Wednesday, 29 Jul 2009, 10:37 AM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 28 Jul 2009, 6:20 PM CDT

Severe weather has been nearly non-existent in Northeast Wisconsin this summer. But on Monday evening the atmosphere produced the first storm reports of the season.

Most of the storms were concentrated along the southern portions of the area, primarily affecting Marquette, Green Lake and Fond du Lac counties. In these locations, warm temperatures in the lower 80s created an unstable atmosphere. There was also plenty of humid air aiding the storms as dew points climbed into the 60s.

The town of Dalton in southwestern Green Lake County, was one of the hardest hit locations.

Hail around the size of a quarter was reported with 60 mph wind speeds. The gusty winds knocked down a few trees and some power lines, but some of the most extreme damage occurred to the home of Randy Fletcher, where strong winds ripped off siding and part of the roof.

"It got real dark and real nasty looking. It started with hail and wind and rain, and the wind did the damage," says Fletcher.

But it may have been more than just straight line winds that caused damage to the home. On Tuesday afternoon the National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado, touched down in Marquette County and traveled southeast towards Dalton.

Dalton; however, wasn't the only place to witness a tornado on Monday. Tornadoes also struck both La Fayette and Crawford Counties in the southwestern portion of the state.

"About 5 o'clock, somewhere around that time, that's when we were notified that there was cloud activity. Then shortly after that is when there was a confirmed touchdown," explains Jerry Moran, a Crawford County Sheriff.

Storm victim Jan Olsen says, "Saw the vortex turning and then we saw it drop. We followed it going north and that's when I said, it is heading towards my house."

Heavy rains were also a main feature of Monday's storms. Doppler estimated rainfall totals reveal that the heaviest rain fell in southwestern Wisconsin. Some locations received more than 2 inch of rain, which is more rain than Green Bay has seen since early June.
 

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