BRODHEAD — Deadly thunderstorms ripped across the Midwest and central United States on March 31, and south central Wisconsin was not spared some of the destruction.
On Sunday, April 2, the National Weather Services confirmed three tornadoes touched down in eastern Green County — two EF-0 and one EF-1. All occurred between Juda, Brodhead and Albany.
The system came the weekend before Easter, known as Palm Sunday. Almost 50 years ago to the weekend, on Palm Sunday (April 11, 1965), Monroe was hit by a large tornado as well.
Severe supercell storms grew from Texas to Arkansas and Mississippi, into Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The storms that began to brew in eastern Iowa traveled quickly, moving at speeds of about 60 miles per hour to the north east. Wind gusts over 70 miles per hour were reported, as well as hail anywhere from a half an inch to almost two inches thick in some locational.
Tornado sirens roared across the county at 7:08 p.m., sending area residents into their homes. At that time, two tornadoes touched down in eastern portion of the county — an EF-0 near Juda around the Green County Landfill and Decatur Dairy on County Road SS, and an EF-1 between Juda and Albany along County Road F.
About 15 minutes later, another tornado, an EF-0, hit north of Brodhead in Decatur Township.
The EF-1 tornado traveled 9.8 miles between Juda and Albany and was on the ground for about 25 minutes. It was about 350 yards wide and reached sustained wind speeds of 100 mph.
According to the NWS report on the tornado: “Four power poles were snapped. Many outbuildings with roof damage. Roofing material blown 100 to 300 yards downstream. Hay cart rolled about 50 yards. Lots of trees were snapped and topped, with some trees uprooted. Many limbs were knocked down.”
The Juda EF-0 registered at 80 mph winds, 175 yards wide and traveled 2.9 miles in 10 minutes on the ground.
The Brodhead EF-0 also hit 80 mph and 175 yards wide, while traveling 5.7 miles for about 18 minutes.
“Lots of trees were snapped and topped, with some trees uprooted. Many limbs were knocked down. There was minor fascia damage on a house,” the NWS report stated for both EF-0s.
No injuries were reported, though one family was displaced. First responders, utility and emergency management crews were out that night, going door to door checking structure damage, clearing roadways of fallen trees, repairing fallen power poles and looking for residents in need of help.
The following morning crews were back out again at first light, and the scale of destruction could be seen. Debris from blown out barns scattered across fields and roads. Trees were uprooted and laying on homes and across lawns and driveways. Road signs and electrical boxes were blown over, and farming equipment strewn about.
The storms knocked out power to approximately 190 homes, according to a press release from the Green County Sheriff’s Office.
A tornado also hit Beloit, and other twisters were confirmed in Walworth County, Dane and Jefferson counties between 7:46 p.m. and 8:27 p.m.
NWS crews were scheduled to look at damage in Iowa County on Monday, April 3, meaning more potential tornadoes could be added to the total.
In northwestern Lafayette County, at around 7:12 p.m., Belmont emergency crews responded to reports of damage to trees, power poles and buildings. Power outages in the area were also recorded. A barn collapsed on Jericho Road in Kendall Township, and a grain bin collapsed on County Road G in Belmont Township.
Minutes later, at 7:15 p.m., a barn fire was reported on Furnace Hills Road in Darlington Township. A MABAS call went out, with the following agencies assisting at the scene: Darlington Fire, Lafayette EMS, Belmont Fire, Blanchardville Fire, Gratiot Fire, Mineral Point Fire, Shullsburg Fire, Wiota Fire and Darlington Police.
Among the hardest hit locations in the state line region was the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, Illinois, just east of Rockford. A twister hit the theatre between sets of a rock concert, collapsing the roof onto spectators — killing a 50-year-old man and injuring 28 others. In all, 40 were treated at local hospitals.
Nationally, tornadoes from the storms hit Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio on March 31. The same system, an extratropical cyclone, began in the Pacific Ocean and dumped what is referred to as an “Atmospheric River” across the west coast and California. About 12 such events hit the west coast this year, with rhythmic winter storms hitting the Midwest in the following days as the systems rolled across the continent.
This time, temperatures were much higher in the central region of the U.S., creating further instability and severity of the storms.
As March 31 rolled into April 1, the storms continued, with tornadoes breaking out in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.
More than 89 confirmed tornadoes touched down across the country during the two-day weather event. As of April 3, 26 deaths nationwide were attributed to the tornado outbreak.
In the far north of the Upper Midwest, the system brought blizzard conditions.