Tornado and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 25, 2002

Name: Tornado and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 25, 2002
Start: 2002-06-25T21:10
End: 2002-06-25T22:15
Location: Wisconsin

June 25, 2002 · NWS ARX · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

A tornado touched down in Abbotsford (Clark County), causing considerable damage. A large feed mill was demolished, with debris damaging 15 cars at a nearby car dealership.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $111,000
Crop damage: $12,000
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.

A tornado touched down in Abbotsford (Clark County), causing considerable damage. A large feed mill was demolished, with debris damaging 15 cars at a nearby car dealership. An electric generator from the feed mill was thrown about two blocks, damaging the front of a building, before coming to rest on a minivan, demolishing it. Utility poles were sheared off and tossed, as well as a railroad crossing guard. One power pole was tossed through a car window, while yet another car was picked up and tossed onto another. In addition to the tornado, straight-line winds estimated at 60 to 65 mph blew down numerous trees and power lines.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 25, 2:10 PM CST, 7 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 25, 2:10 PM CST, 7 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
310 PM CDT TUE JUN 25 2002

FORECAST PROBLEM WILL BE TONIGHTS FRONTAL PASSAGE WITH POTENTIAL
SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL.

18Z SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS COLD FRONT EXTENDING FROM NORTHWEST
MINNESOTA INTO NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA. AREA RADARS SHOWING
CONVECTION ACROSS NORTHERN MINNESOTA AHEAD OF BOUNDARY. SOME
ISOLATED CELLS WERE FORMING ACROSS RICHLAND COUNTY IN VICINITY OF
LEFTOVER OUTFLOW BOUNDARY FROM EARLIER TODAY. WELL DEFINED SHORT WAVE
SEEN ON WATER VAPOR IMAGERY IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA...MOVING EASTWARD
ALONG U.S./CANADIAN BORDER.

NO PROBLEMS WITH 12Z MODEL INITIALIZATION AND THEY ARE IN GOOD
AGREEMENT FOR THIS FORECAST CYCLE.

IN THE SHORT TERM...SHORTWAVE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE ALONG
U.S./CANADIAN BORDER TONIGHT AND EXIT THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY...AS
UPPER RIDGE ACROSS THE ROCKIES CONTINUES TO BUILD. COLD FRONT WILL
TRAVERSE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT. SURFACE TEMPERATURES NEAR 90 ALONG
WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 60S AND LOWER 70S RESULTING IN CAPES
BETWEEN 2000 AND 3000 J/KG THIS AFTERNOON. ONLY 20 TO 30 KNOT DEEP
LAYER SHEAR IS FORECAST TONIGHT...BUT 40 TO 50KT MID LEVEL FLOW ON
SOUTH SIDE OF 500MB WAVE WILL SERVE TO HELP ENHANCE SHEAR PROFILES...
ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTHWEST ZONES. HIGH PRECIPITABLE WATER
WILL RESULT IN SOME LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS...BUT SYSTEM SHOULD BE
PROGRESSIVE ENOUGH NOT TO WARRANT FLOOD WATCH AT THIS TIME.

FRONT TO PROGRESS SOUTH ON WEDNESDAY. ANY ACTIVITY SHOULD BE
CONFINED TO THE SOUTHEAST AND EASTERN ZONES. LATER SHIFTS MAY HAVE
TO FINE TUNE WORDING IF FRONT SLOWS DOWN. THEREAFTER...EXPECT HIGH
PRESSURE TO BUILD IN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK...DROPPING
TEMPERATURES BACK INTO THE 80S WITH LOWER HUMIDITIES.

GUIDANCE NUMBERS FAIRLY CLOSE TOGETHER AND SEEM REASONABLE SO NO
MAJOR DEVIATIONS.

IN THE 4 TO 7 DAY TIME FRAME...QUIET WEATHER TO REMAIN IN PLACE
THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEKEND...THEN NEXT SYSTEM TO BEGIN
TO PULL MOISTURE NORTHWARD SUNDAY...WITH CHANCE SHRA/TSRA THROUGH
TUESDAY.

.LSE...NONE.

RABERDING

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 134 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:11 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clark

When: June 25, 9:10 PM CST
Where: Clark County, Withee
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $7,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.950, -90.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Taylor

When: June 25, 9:10 PM CST
Where: Taylor County, Medford
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.133, -90.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Clark

When: June 25, 9:12 PM CST
Where: Clark County, 1 mi N of Owen
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage: $4,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.967, -90.567

Tornado, Clark

When: June 25, 9:15 PM CST to 9:20 PM CST
Where: Clark County, Abbotsford
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 70 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 44.950, -90.317

Thunderstorm Wind, Buffalo

When: June 25, 10:15 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County, 2 mi NE of Alma
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.333, -91.883

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Wisconsin, 2002 Warnings in Wisconsin, June 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5305705, 5305706, 5305707, 5305709, 5305708.