Tornadoes · United States · Wisconsin · 2013
EF2 tornado, Partridge Lake to Freedom, Wisconsin, August 6, 2013
From Partridge Lake to Freedom, this EF2 tornado ran 13.1 miles across Waupaca and Outagamie counties on August 6, 2013, touching down at 12:24 AM CDT and reaching 175 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $3.5 million of property damage.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado
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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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.
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.
The record
- Rating
- EF2
- Date
- August 6, 2013
- Touchdown
- 12:24 AM CDT (05:24 UTC)
- Lifted
- 12:33 AM CDT (05:33 UTC)
- On the ground
- 9 minutes
- Path length
- 13.1 miles (21.0 km)
- Path width
- 175 yards (160 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $3.5 million
- Counties
- Waupaca and Outagamie counties
- Touchdown point
- 44.383, -88.774
- Lift-off point
- 44.299, -88.537
- Record number
- 1308062324-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A line of severe thunderstorms, known as a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), produced six tornadoes and widespread damaging winds across east-central Wisconsin during the late night hours of August 6-7. The storms formed ahead of a cold front that also produced severe weather in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.||The tornadoes occurred within about 50 minutes--between 12:22 am and 1:10 am CDT. Hundreds of homes, businesses and farm buildings were damaged. Two injuries occurred at a campground in Waupaca County. Thousands of trees and power lines were also downed, leaving tens of thousands of people without power. The strongest tornado of the event reached EF2 intensity (winds estimated at 115 to 120 mph). This tornado caused significant damage to a church in New London. ||The six tornadoes that occurred on August 7 were the most nighttime tornadoes in a single event in northeast Wisconsin since accurate tornado records began (1950).
A tornado formed just after 12:20 am CDT and quickly moved east-southeast. The storm hit a campground, blowing several camper trailers over. Two people sustained minor injuries at the campground. Over 100 trees were snapped or uprooted along the path of the tornado (DI 27, DOD 3 and 4; DI 28, DOD 3 and 4). The tornado moved into Outagamie County about 3.1 miles south of New London at 12:26 am CDT. The average path width of the tornado in Waupaca County was 75 yards.
Another fast-moving tornado formed within a line of severe thunderstorms and raced to the southeast. The tornado struck a church, causing severe damage (DI 9, DOD 6 and 7). A large portion of the roof collapsed, causing failure of two walls. A wall on a new portion of the church was pushed in. In addition, hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted. Several homes along the path sustained damage, mainly from fallen trees. The tornado exited Waupaca County about one mile south of New London at about 12:25 am CDT. The average path width in Waupaca County was 100 yards.
The tornado that struck Waupaca County at 12:24 am CDT entered Outagamie County about a mile south of New London at 12:25 am CDT. The tornado damaged or uprooted several hundred trees (DI 27, DOD 3 and 4; DI 28, DOD 3 and 4) along the path, many falling on houses in a two block area of Hortonville, causing considerable roof and siding damage. The average path width in Outagamie County was approximately 100 yards.
The tornado that touched down in Waupaca County at 12:22 am CDT crossed the Outagamie County line 3.1 miles south of New London at 12:26 am CDT. The tornado quickly moved east-southeast and damaged or uprooted dozens of trees (DI 27, DOD 3 and 4; DI 28, DOD 3 and 4). Based on radar analysis, the circulation of this tornado may have merged with the other tornado that was occurring concurrently in the county near Hortonville. The average path width in Outagamie County was 75 yards.
A tornado developed near Mackville and moved rapidly to the east-southeast. The tornado caused a barn to collapse (DI 1, DOD 6) and heavily damaged a boat showroom (DI 21, DOD 3) just north of Little Chute. Another barn lost part of its roof (DI 1, DOD 4) northwest of Kaukauna. Damage to trees was sporadic as the tornado moved out of Outagamie County into Brown County, about two miles southwest of Wrightstown, at 12:48 am CDT. The average path width in Outagamie County was 100 yards.
A tornado formed near Highway 41 northwest of Appleton and moved east across northern portions of Appleton, Kimberly and Kaukauna. The tornado caused some roof damage to the Northland Mall (DI 11, DOD 2) and caused roof and window damage to two small retail buildings (DI 8, DOD 3 and 4). The storm then knocked over four wood electrical poles (DI 24, DOD 2 and 3) and uprooted or heavily damaged hundreds of trees in a nearby neighborhood (DI 27, DOD 2 and 3; DI 28, DOD 2 and 3). Although the houses in the area sustained relatively minor wind damage directly, fallen trees caused considerable collateral damage to roofs, siding and vehicles. The tornado exited Outagamie County about four miles east-southeast of Kaukauna at 12:49 am CDT and continued east into far southwest Brown County, then into northern Calumet County. The average path width in Outagamie County was 125 yards.
Another fast-moving tornado developed within a line of severe thunderstorms and moved east-southeast across the Fox Valley. The tornado caused significant damage to several outbuildings and barns (DI 1, DOD 6 and 7) and flattened sections of mature corn fields. The roof of a power substation was damaged (similar to DI 9, DOD 5) southwest of Freedom. The average path width of the tornado in Outagamie County was 150 yards. The tornado moved into Brown County near Highway 41, 1.8 miles northwest of Wrightstown, at 12:48 am CDT.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 03:46 UTC and running to 07:24 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03:46 UTC | 07:24 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | GRB |
| 04:50 UTC | 05:45 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB |
| 05:30 UTC | 05:39 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB |
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 forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:59 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 air that afternoon
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.
Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), 00:00Z
5.4 hours before the tornado, 47 km from the path. August 7, 2013.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 424 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -6 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1214 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1453 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 11 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 80 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 138 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.1
- Supercell composite
- 2.4
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 7.6 K/km
Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), 12:00Z
6.6 hours after it, 47 km from the path. August 7, 2013.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -81541 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 903 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 17 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 2 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 79 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.7 K/km
The surface observations
Appleton/Outagam (ATW), 14 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03:55 UTC | 71.6 | 62.6 | 190° 6 kt | 1008.1 | ||
| 04:15 UTC | 71.6 | 62.6 | 180° 7 kt | 1007.8 | ||
| 04:35 UTC | 71.6 | 64.4 | 190° 9 kt | 1007.1 | ||
| 04:55 UTC | 71.6 | 64.4 | 210° 11 kt | 1007.5 | ||
| 05:15 UTC | 71.6 | 66.2 | 210° 13 kt | 17 | 1007.8 | |
| 05:35 UTC | 71.6 | 66.2 | 240° 16 kt | 25 | 1009.5 | VCTS |
| 05:55 UTC | 57.2 | 55.4 | 320° 13 kt | 28 | 1010.8 | +TSRA |
| 06:15 UTC | 59 | 57.2 | 360° 8 kt | 1009.8 | TSRA | |
| 06:35 UTC | 59 | 59 | 130° 6 kt | 1008.5 | VCTSRA | |
| 06:55 UTC | 59 | 59 | 80° 6 kt | 1007.8 | -DZ | |
| 07:15 UTC | 59 | 59 | 150° 4 kt | 1008.1 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Green Bay radar (KGRB), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 05:22 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Kellnersville | Manitowoc, WI | SCATTERED TREES DOWN IN CITY. |
| 05:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | King | Waupaca, WI | TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN SOUTHWEST OF WAUPACA. A FEW TREES ON HOMES. TIME ESTIMATED. |
| 05:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Wild Rose | Waushara, WI | CONSIDERABLE STRUCTURE AND TREE DAMAGE IN WILD ROSE AREA SOME ROADS IMPASSABLE NORTH AND EAST PART OF COUNTY DUE TO TREE DAMAGE. |
| 05:18 UTC | TSTM WND GST 46 | Waupaca | Waupaca, WI | |
| 05:24 UTC | TSTM WND GST 50 | New London | Waupaca, WI | |
| 05:25 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | New London | Waupaca, WI | THE TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH HAS SUSTAINED HEAVY DAMAGE. NUMEROUS TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE CITY. |
| 05:25 UTC | TSTM WND GST 75 | New London | Waupaca, WI | |
| 05:25 UTC | TORNADO | Sse New London | Waupaca, WI | TORNADO WAS IMBEDDED IN A LARGE AREA OF STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS. A CHURCH SUSTAINED HEAVY DAMAGE...EF2...WITH ESTIMATED WINDS OVER 110 MPH. IN ADDITION...HUNDREDS OF TREES WERE EITHER UPROOTED OR SNAPPED...CAUSING DAMAGE TO |
| 05:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | New London | Waupaca, WI | MANY TREES DOWN AND CAMPERS FLIPPED OVER AT THE HUCKLEBERRY CAMPGROUND. POSSIBLE INJURIES. |
| 05:31 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hortonville | Outagamie, WI | NO POWER IN CITY. MANY TREES SNAPPED. |
| 05:36 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Greenville | Outagamie, WI | MANY LARGE TREES SNAPPED...POWERLINES DOWN. NO POWER IN CITY. |
| 05:38 UTC | TORNADO | Nw Mackville | Outagamie, WI | A TORNADO FORMED NEAR MACKVILLE AND MOVED SOUTHEAST FOR APPROX 4.8 MILES...LIFTING OFF ABOUT 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF KAUKAUNA. THE TORNADO WAS RATED EF1 WITH ESTIMATED WINDS OF 90 TO 100 MPH. |
| 05:40 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Nnw Appleton | Outagamie, WI | THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED THE TORNADO DAMAGE IN NEW LONDON AND HORTONVILLE CAUSED HEAVY DAMAGE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF APPLETON. NUMEROUS HOMES SUSTAINED DAMAGE FROM FALLEN TREES. SEVERAL LARGE WOODEN POWER POLES WERE SN |
| 05:40 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Ne Mackville | Outagamie, WI | A TORNADO FORMED NORTHEAST OF MACKVILLE AND MOVED EAST FOR ABOUT 30 MILES...DIMINISHING A FEW MILES EAST OF MARIBEL /MANITOWOC COUNTY/. THE TORNADO SNAPPED AND UPROOTED 500 TO 1000 TREES ALONG THE PATH. SWIRL MARKS WERE |
| 05:41 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ne Appleton | Outagamie, WI | MANY LARGE BRANCHES DOWN. |
| 05:41 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Se Appleton | Outagamie, WI | MANY TREES ON HOUSES ON THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF CITY. |
| 05:41 UTC | TSTM WND GST 61 | Little Chute | Outagamie, WI | |
| 05:44 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Appleton | Outagamie, WI | POWERLINES DOWN AT THE INTERSECTION OF NORTHLAND AND MASON. |
| 05:44 UTC | TSTM WND GST 59 | Appleton | Outagamie, WI | |
| 05:44 UTC | TSTM WND GST 86 | Appleton | Outagamie, WI | INTERSECTION OF HWY N AND KK. |
| 05:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Kaukauna | Outagamie, WI | FIELDCREST SUBDIVSION REPORTING MANY GAS LEAKS AND TREES SNAPPED. |
| 05:47 UTC | TSTM WND GST 67 | Appleton | Outagamie, WI | LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY. |
| 05:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nw Wrightstown | Brown, WI | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN AND POSSIBLE INJURIES AT THE APPLE CREEK CAMPGROUND. |
| 05:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Kimberly | Outagamie, WI | MANY TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN...NO POWER IN CITY. |
| 05:49 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Appleton | Outagamie, WI | INTERSECTION OF FRENCH RD AND 00. 5 POWERPOLES SNAPPED. |
| 05:49 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hortonville | Outagamie, WI | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ON HWY 15 BETWEEN NEW LONDON AND HORTONVILLE. |
| 05:49 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | New London | Waupaca, WI | TREES DOWN AT THE NEW LONDON FAMILY MEDICAL CENTER. |
| 05:50 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Ese Kaukauna | Brown, WI | A TORNADO WAS IMBEDDED IN A LARGE AREA OF STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS. TORNADIC DAMAGE OCCURRED IN FAR SOUTHERN BROWN COUNTY AND MOVED ACROSS THE COUNTY LINE INTO CALUMET COUNTY NEAR HWY 57 AND COUNTY RD KK. AT LEAST TWO BARNS S |
| 05:52 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Forest Junction | Calumet, WI | HWY 57 CLOSED IN BOTH DIRECTIONS AT THE BROWN/CALUMET LINE DUE TO A UTILITY EMERGENCY. |
| 06:03 UTC | TSTM WND GST 40 | Bellevue | Brown, WI | |
| 06:04 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | E Maribel | Manitowoc, WI | SEMI-TRAILER OVERTURNED ON INTERSTATE 43 NORTH OF COUNTY ROAD Z. REPORTED BY FOX 11. |
| 06:08 UTC | TSTM WND GST 59 | Denmark | Brown, WI | |
| 06:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Maribel | Manitowoc, WI | TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN IN CITY. |
| 06:18 UTC | TSTM WND GST 40 | Fond Du Lac Airport | Fond Du Lac, WI |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2013 tornado in WisconsinEvery tornado in Wisconsin since 1950Warnings in force in Wisconsin nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of August 6, 2013
10 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 6 | 4:00 PM CDT | EF0 | Stevens, MN | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| August 6 | 4:13 PM CDT | EF0 | Richland, ND | 0.5 | 100 | |||
| August 6 | 4:26 PM CDT | EF1 | Richland, ND | 3.0 | 150 | |||
| August 6 | 4:29 PM CDT | EF0 | Stevens, MN | 0.1 | 10 | |||
| August 6 | 5:17 PM CDT | EF0 | Kandiyohi, MN | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| August 6 | 12:22 AM CDT | EF1 | Waupaca, WI | 9.8 | 125 | 2 | $25,000 | |
| August 6 | 12:38 AM CDT | EF1 | Outagamie, WI | 19.1 | 175 | $2.0 million | ||
| August 6 | 12:38 AM CDT | EF1 | Outagamie, WI | 20.7 | 175 | $10 million | ||
| August 6 | 12:40 AM CDT | EF1 | Outagamie, WI | 33.1 | 250 | $3.6 million | ||
| August 6 | 12:59 AM CDT | EF1 | Brown, WI | 10.6 | 100 | $50,000 |
What this means
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.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.