Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, June 1, 2000

A tornado touched down near Cataract (Monroe County), shearing off trees, demolishing barns and sheds, causing light structural damage to a house and tossing farm equipment and debris about 600 to 700 yards. There were no reports of injuries or deaths. This same thunderstorm produced hail as large as softballs through the Oakdale area (Monroe County) and communities southeast along the Highway 12 - Interstate 90/94 corridor. There was extensive roof, siding and window damage in and around Oakdale. Nearly every building in town had damage on the north and west facing walls. Hundreds of cars, including those traveling along Interstate 90/94, had broken windshields and sustained large dents. There were numerous trees and large branches broke or blown to the southeast. Another tornado touched down just north of New Lisbon (Juneau County), then tracked southeast before lifting just north of Mauston (Juneau County). Damage consisted of sheared or blown down trees, barns and sheds demolished, garages heavily damaged, and some light structural damage to homes. Hardest hit were homes and farms along 8th Avenue north of New Lisbon, along Meredith Road north of Mauston, and along Highway 58 north of Mauston. There were no reports of injuries or deaths. There was also downburst (microburst) wind damage south and west of New Lisbon along Highway 80 and County Roads B and A. Downburst wind damage was also seen along Interstate 90/94 between Camp Douglas and New Lisbon with hundreds of trees blown down or sheared off. Juneau and Monroe County were declared federal disaster areas due to the extensive storm damage.