F1 tornado, Paris to Union Grove, Wisconsin, August 25, 2001

1. F040 to 72 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. F2113 to 157 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. F3158 to 206 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. F4207 to 260 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. F5261 to 318 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

F1

Date

August 25, 2001

Touchdown

5:40 PM CDT (22:40 UTC)

Path length

4.5 miles (7.2 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$40,000

Counties

Kenosha and Racine counties

Touchdown point

42.670, -88.000

Lift-off point

42.720, -87.930

Record number

1101

A weak tornado spun up in north-central Kenosha County, about 3.5 miles northeast of Paris. It pushed over an old shed, a TV antenna, and uprooted several trees on a property located on the south side of County Hwy KR. Based on damage, wind speeds were probably in the 70 to 78 knot range (80 to 90 mh). This tornado exited Kenosha County about 3.7 miles northeast of Paris, or .8 miles east of the intersection of KR and D, and entered Racine County about 2.8 miles east-southeast of Union Grove. It proceeded northeast toward the intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 11, and eventually dissipated 1.8 miles northwest of Sturtevant. Synoptically, a 500 mb circulation center moved northeast through southeast Wisconsin at the time of the tornado. Scattered thunderstorms associated with the low moved northeast at about 30 mph. Maximum air temperatures during the afternoon were in the lower 80s with surface dewpoints in the mid to upper 60s.

Thia weak tornado spun up in north-central Kenosha County, about 3.5 miles northeast of Paris. It exited Kenosha County about 3.7 miles northeast of Paris, or .8 miles east of the intersection of KR and D, and entered Racine County about 2.8 miles east-southeast of Union Grove. It proceeded northeast toward the intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 11, and eventually dissipated 1.8 miles northwest of Sturtevant. Luckily, the tornado circulation wasn't at ground level the entire time, and traveled part of the time over some swamp land, otherwise there would have been more damage. In Racine County, the tornado intensified to the top of the F1 rating (winds about 87 to 96 knots, or 100 to 110 mph), and demolished a hay shed, damaged a pole barn (horse trailer inside was pushed through a closed door), flattened some fence, uprooted or snapped many trees, damaged a road sign, damaged a Sheriff Department speed trailer at the I-94/Hwy 11 intersection, and flattened some corn crop. A couple of power line poles were also damaged. Eyewitness reports indicated that the tornado briefly consisted of multiple vortices, and sounded like a jet engine. Average path length was about 25 yards. Synoptically, a 500 mb circulation center moved northeast through southeast Wisconsin at the time of the tornado. Scattered thunderstorms associated with the low moved northeast at about 30 mph. Maximum air temperatures during the afternoon were in the lower 80s with surface dewpoints in the mid to upper 60s.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 22:03 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2001 tornado in WisconsinEvery tornado in Wisconsin since 1950Warnings in force in Wisconsin nowThe forecast where you are

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.