...VERY ACTIVE SUMMER MONTHS OF JUNE AND AUGUST SET MANY TORNADO RECORDS IN WISCONSIN... ...HERE ARE THE TOP 10 TORNADO DAYS IN WISCONSIN SINCE 1955... ...NUMBER OF... ...RANK... ...DATE... ...TORNADOES... 1 / AUGUST 18 2005 / 27 2 MAY 08 1988 24 3 JULY 03 1983 22 4 JUNE 08 1993 18 5 JUNE 23 2004 17 6 AUGUST 09 1979 12 6 JULY 18 1996 12 8 JULY 10 1966 10 8 JUNE 26 1969 10 8 JULY 15 1980 10 8 APRIL 27 1984 10 8 MAY 24 1989 10 8 / JUNE 4 2005 / 10 ...HERE ARE THE TOP 10 TORNADO DAYS IN THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MILWAUKEE/SULLIVAN COUNTY WARNING AREA...WHICH IS COMPRISED OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES...COLUMBIA...DANE...DODGE...FOND DU LAC...GREEN... GREEN LAKE...IOWA...JEFFERSON...KENOSHA...LAFAYETTE...MARQUETTE... MILWAUKEE...OZAUKEE...RACINE...ROCK...SAUK...SHEBOYGAN...WALWORTH... WASHINGTON...AND WAUKESHA... ...NUMBER OF... ...RANK... ...DATE... ...TORNADOES... 1 / AUGUST 18 2005 / 16 2 MAY 08 1988 11 3 AUGUST 09 1979 10 3 JULY 18 1996 10 4 JUNE 08 1993 08 4 JUNE 23 2004 08 5 JUNE 08 1984 07 6 JULY 03 1983 06 6 JUNE 06 1980 06 7 AUGUST 22 1964 05 7 APRIL 11 1965 05 7 MAY 24 1989 05 -------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ONLY ONE TORNADO IN MARCH...A QUIET APRIL...AND ONE TORNADO IN MAY...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES SERVING WISCONSIN RECEIVED NUMEROUS REPORTS OF TORNADOES FROM AROUND THE STATE DURING THE MONTH OF JUNE...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL AREAS. THIS ACTIVITY RESULTED FROM A SHIFT IN THE UPPER LEVEL WIND PATTERN DURING THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF JUNE. THIS SHIFT INITIALLY KEPT WEATHER SYSTEMS ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH THE STATE...AND BROUGHT VERY WARM TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY. THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY CONTINUED INTO THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF AUGUST. THIS ENVIRONMENT GREATLY CONTRASTED WITH THE RATHER COOL MAY...WHERE MILWAUKEE GENERAL MITCHELL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FAILED TO REACH 80 DEGREES. IN JUNE...THE MILWAUKEE AIRPORT SURPASSED THE 90-DEGREE MARK TWICE...94 ON THE 23RD AND 96 ON THE 24TH. TRUAX FIELD IN MADISON SURPASSED 90 FOUR TIMES...SURPASSING 90 ON THE 10TH...93 ON THE 23RD...92 ON THE 24TH...AND 92 ON THE 27TH. MORE 90-DEGREE DAYS WERE RECORDED IN JULY. SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE STATE SAW A RECORD BREAKING OUTBREAK ON AUGUST 18TH...WHEN AN F3 TORNADO CAUSED ONE FATALITY AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE NEAR STOUGHTON...WISCONSIN. -------------------------------------------------------------------- IN WISCONSIN...TORNADOES ARE MOST PLENTIFUL IN THE MONTHS OF JUNE AND JULY...DESPITE ACTIVE SPRINGS ACROSS THE PLAINS. THE MONTH OF MAY HAS THE THIRD GREATEST NUMBER OF TORNADOES...AND AUGUST FOURTH. THE FOLLOWING LIST REPRESENTS THE MONTHS SINCE 1955 THAT HAD SIXTEEN OR MORE TORNADOES. NUMBER OF WI RANK TORNADOES MONTH/YEAR -------------------------------------------------- 1 28 /JUNE 2005/ 1 28 JUNE 1993 3 27 /AUGUST 2005/ 4 25 JULY 1993 5 24 MAY 1998 6 19 JUNE 1969 7 17 MAY 1959 7 17 JUNE 2004 9 16 MAY 1964 9 16 JULY 1980 -------------------------------------------------------------------- IN JUNE 2004...17 TORNADOES WERE ALL REPORTED DURING THE EVENING HOURS OF THE 23RD...MAINLY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE STATE. THERE WAS A FATALITY IN GREEN LAKE COUNTY...WHEN AN F3 TORNADO SWEPT ACROSS A FARM. PRIOR TO THAT INCIDENT...THE PREVIOUS KILLER TORNADO IN WISCONSIN STRUCK SIREN...WISCONSIN IN JUNE 2001. THE FOLLOWING LIST SHOWS HOW JUNE 2005 STACKS UP TO OTHER JUNES SINCE 1955. NUMBER OF WI RANK TORNADOES /JUNE/ YEAR ---------------------------------------- 1 28 / 2005 / 1 28 1993 3 25 1983 4 19 1969 5 17 2004 6 15 1971 7 12 1980 8 11 1967 9 10 1981 9 10 1976 --------------------------------------------------------------------- THERE WAS ONE WISCONSIN TORNADO IN JULY 2005...NEAR MILTON IN ROCK COUNTY. THE TORNADO WAS RATED AN F0. THERE WERE 28 TORNADOES REPORTED IN JULY 1993...THE GREATEST NUMBER FOR THAT MONTH SINCE 1955. --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FOLLOWING LIST SHOWS HOW AUGUST 2005 STACKS UP TO OTHER AUGUSTS SINCE 1955. NUMBER OF WI RANK TORNADOES /AUGUST/ YEAR ---------------------------------------- 1 27 / 2005 / 2 15 1979 3 8 1994 4 7 1968 4 7 1964 6 6 1988 7 5 1987 7 5 1985 7 5 1975 10 4 1992 10 4 1980 10 4 1977 10 4 1960 --------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM JANUARY 1ST THROUGH AUGUST 22ND...2005 HAS HAD A REMARKABLE NUMBER OF TORNADOES...UNLIKE ANY OTHER YEAR IN WISCONSIN/S RECORDED HISTORY. THE FOLLOWING LIST COMPARES 2005 SO FAR TO OTHER YEARS WHICH ENDED WITH HIGH TORNADO TOTALS. INFORMATION FOR 2005 IS STILL PRELIMINARY. NUMBER OF WI RANK TORNADOES YEAR ---------------------------------------- 1 58 / 2005 / 2 43 1980 3 37 1993 4 36 2004 5 35 1994 5 35 1988 7 34 1984 8 33 1964 9 31 1983 10 30 1979 10 30 1971 10 30 1967 10 30 1959 THE TORNADO DATABASE HAS BEEN WELL-MAINTAINED SINCE 1955...WHICH IS THE STARTING DATE FOR THE ABOVE LIST. TORNADOES DURING THE 1800S AND EARLY 1900S WERE RARELY REPORTED...UNLESS A CITY OR TOWN WAS DAMAGED IN ITS PATH...OR WIDESPREAD INJURIES AND FATALITIES RESULTED. WHILE IT IS DIFFICULT TO PREDICT WHAT THE FUTURE WILL BRING...THE PROBABILITIES FOR FUTURE TORNADOES WILL BEGIN TO WANE AS COOL WEATHER STARTS TO MAKE HEADWAY INTO THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. THIRTY-SIX TORNADOES WERE RECORDED IN 2004...WHICH WAS ALSO ABOVE AVERAGE. THE LAST TIME WISCONSIN REPORTED A BELOW AVERAGE NUMBER OF TORNADOES WAS 2003...WHEN ONLY FOURTEEN TORNADOES WERE CONFIRMED. BETWEEN 1971 AND 2000...AN AVERAGE OF 21 TORNADOES WERE REPORTED STATEWIDE EACH YEAR. TORNADOES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN EVERY MONTH EXCEPT FEBRUARY ACROSS THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. INFORMATION AND STATISTICS INCLUDED IN THIS STATEMENT FOR 2005 SHOULD BE CONSIDERED PRELIMINARY.