There’s been a pattern of severe tornadoes in Wisconsin striking in the overnight or early morning hours for the past couple of years.
“The major tornadoes we had in Wisconsin all kind of played out the same way,” said Tod Pritchard with Wisconsin Emergency Management. “They all happened at night on the back-end of thunderstorms, they all spun up and formed very quickly, did their damage and went away.”
In some cases, Pritchard noted, tornadoes struck with no watch or warning having been issued. “The tornadoes that hit Platteville last year were really only indicated on one sweep of the radar screen. They only got to see it once, and then it was gone.”
Pritchard said the night-time twisters illustrate the importance of having and using an emergency weather radio. “You’re not watching TV, you’re probably not listening to the radio at that point. You’re in bed, and if you hear that warning on the weather radio, that’s going to get you the information you need to get up and get to safety.” This is Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin.