The National Weather Service says at least five tornadoes hit the state Thursday. Maybe more.
Rusty Kapela at the National Weather Service says the analysis is preliminary but longest lived tornado stayed on the ground through Menominee, Oconto and Langlade Counties. There was one confirmed twister in Clark County and at least three tornadoes in the Wood-Marathon County area. That could go up to four or five, he says, after the investigation is complete.
Marathon County Sheriff Randy Hoenisch says his deputies followed one of those funnel clouds. They estimate it traveled seven miles, skipping along the landscape.
And it skipped through several homes. One woman says she drove up to an area in Marathon County and saw families standing outside crying. One house, she says, was just gone. Clothes were blown all over including a field across the street. She called it "pure devastation".
Fortunately only minor injuries reported this time but forecaster Rust Kapela says it will happen again and everyone needs to be alert.
