Tornadoes · United States · Wisconsin · 2020
EF0 tornado, Butte Des Morts to (Osh)Wittman Fld Osh, Wisconsin, June 20, 2020
From Butte Des Morts to (Osh)Wittman Fld Osh, this EF0 tornado ran 3.4 miles across Winnebago County on June 20, 2020, touching down at 5:35 PM CDT and reaching 75 yards wide. It killed nobody.
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 mphthis tornado
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 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.
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
- EF0
- Date
- June 20, 2020
- Touchdown
- 5:35 PM CDT (22:35 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:41 PM CDT (22:41 UTC)
- On the ground
- 6 minutes
- Path length
- 3.4 miles (5.4 km)
- Path width
- 75 yards (69 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Winnebago County
- Touchdown point
- 43.914, -88.467
- Lift-off point
- 43.961, -88.449
- Record number
- 2006201635-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A cold front brought intensifying thunderstorms across east-central Wisconsin during the afternoon as it swept through the region. Three tornadoes and wind damage was reported as these thunderstorms tracked through the area.
A brief tornado touchdown was witnessed by the Oshkosh Fire Department near Highway 45 near Butte des Morts. No damage was reported.
A storm chaser and the public spotted a tornado over Lake Butte des Morts near County S. The tornado dissipated before reaching shore.
Multiple eyewitness reports of a tornado over Lake Winnebago 5 to 6 miles southeast of Oshkosh Wittman Field Airport. The tornado dissipated before reaching shore.
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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21:44 UTC | 22:19 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | GRB |
| 22:07 UTC | 22:16 UTC | Tornado Warning | GRB |
| 22:49 UTC | 22:58 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 Marginal Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 20:01 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), 12:00Z
10.6 hours before the tornado, 67 km from the path. June 20, 2020.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 103 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -56 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 403 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1063 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 140 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 144 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.5 K/km
The surface observations
Oshkosh (OSH), 9 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:35 UTC | 120° 11 kt | 1010.5 | ||||
| 20:40 UTC | 120° 11 kt | 1010.5 | ||||
| 20:45 UTC | 120° 10 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 20:50 UTC | 120° 11 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 20:53 UTC | 75 | 68 | 120° 12 kt | 1010.2 | ||
| 20:55 UTC | 120° 11 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 21:00 UTC | 120° 10 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 21:05 UTC | 120° 11 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 21:10 UTC | 110° 9 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 21:15 UTC | 110° 9 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 21:20 UTC | 110° 9 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 21:25 UTC | 120° 9 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 21:30 UTC | 120° 10 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 21:35 UTC | 120° 7 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 21:40 UTC | 120° 9 kt | 1009.1 | ||||
| 21:45 UTC | 110° 7 kt | 1009.1 | ||||
| 21:50 UTC | 110° 7 kt | 1009.1 | -RA | |||
| 21:53 UTC | 73 | 68 | 110° 7 kt | 1008.8 | VCTS -RA | |
| 21:55 UTC | 110° 7 kt | 1008.8 | -RA | |||
| 22:00 UTC | 120° 5 kt | 1009.1 | RA BR | |||
| 22:05 UTC | 120° 4 kt | 1008.8 | -RA BR | |||
| 22:10 UTC | 130° 4 kt | 1008.8 | -RA | |||
| 22:15 UTC | 150° 4 kt | 1008.8 | -RA | |||
| 22:17 UTC | 73 | 69 | 170° 3 kt | 1008.8 | -RA | |
| 22:20 UTC | 0° 0 kt | 1008.8 | RA BR | |||
| 22:21 UTC | 72 | 69 | 0° 0 kt | 1008.8 | RA BR | |
| 22:25 UTC | 250° 5 kt | 1008.8 | +RA BR | |||
| 22:26 UTC | 72 | 69 | 4 kt | 1008.8 | +RA BR | |
| 22:30 UTC | 160° 8 kt | 1008.8 | +RA BR | |||
| 22:33 UTC | 72 | 69 | 150° 6 kt | 14 | 1008.8 | VCTS -RA BR |
| 22:35 UTC | 150° 8 kt | 1008.8 | -RA BR | |||
| 22:37 UTC | 73 | 69 | 150° 6 kt | 1008.8 | VCTS -RA BR | |
| 22:40 UTC | 160° 5 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 22:45 UTC | 180° 5 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 22:50 UTC | 210° 4 kt | 1008.8 | RA BR | |||
| 22:53 UTC | 72 | 69 | 220° 4 kt | 1008.8 | -RA BR | |
| 22:55 UTC | 250° 2 kt | 1008.8 | -RA BR | |||
| 23:00 UTC | 260° 5 kt | 1008.8 | -RA BR | |||
| 23:05 UTC | 250° 4 kt | 1008.8 | RA BR | |||
| 23:10 UTC | 270° 5 kt | 1008.8 | RA BR | |||
| 23:15 UTC | 270° 7 kt | 1009.1 | RA | |||
| 23:20 UTC | 270° 5 kt | 1008.8 | RA | |||
| 23:25 UTC | 280° 5 kt | 1008.8 | RA | |||
| 23:30 UTC | 270° 5 kt | 1008.8 | RA | |||
| 23:35 UTC | 290° 5 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 23:40 UTC | 290° 5 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 23:45 UTC | 300° 7 kt | 1008.8 | ||||
| 23:48 UTC | 71.6 | 68 | 290° 5 kt | 1009.1 | ||
| 23:50 UTC | 290° 4 kt | 1009.1 | ||||
| 23:53 UTC | 71 | 68 | 290° 3 kt | 1009.1 | ||
| 23:55 UTC | 290° 4 kt | 1009.1 | ||||
| 00:00 UTC | 300° 2 kt | 1009.1 | -RA | |||
| 00:05 UTC | 310° 5 kt | 1009.1 | -RA | |||
| 00:10 UTC | 71 | 68 | 290° 3 kt | 1009.1 | ||
| 00:15 UTC | 0° 0 kt | 1009.1 | ||||
| 00:20 UTC | 0° 0 kt | 1009.1 | ||||
| 00:25 UTC | 0° 0 kt | 1009.1 | ||||
| 00:30 UTC | 250° 2 kt | 1009.1 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Green Bay radar (KGRB), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:35 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:37 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Omro | Winnebago, WI | AT LEAST 4 TREES DOWN IN OMRO, AND SHEET METAL BLOWN OFF A SCORE BOARD AT OMRO HIGH SCHOOL. DELAYED REPORT. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 21:49 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 1 W Rosendale | Fond Du Lac, WI | REPORT OF FUNNEL FROM DEPUTY AND PUBLIC. MAY HAVE BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN. HEADING NORTHEAST. TIME ESTIMATED ON RADAR. |
| 21:49 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 S Rosendale | Fond Du Lac, WI | MULTIPLE REPORTS OF TREES AND BRANCHES DOWN IN SPRINGVALE. TIME ESTIMATED ON RADAR. |
| 22:01 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 4 Ne Rosendale | Fond Du Lac, WI | REPORT OF FUNNEL CLOUD, MAY HAVE TOUCHED DOWN. RELAYED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 22:03 UTC | TORNADO | 1 N Butte Des Morts | Winnebago, WI | TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED TORNADO TOUCHDOWN. SPOTTER LOCATED AT SKELETON BRIDGE NEAR HIGHWAY 45 LOOKING NORTHWESTWARDS. LOCATION OF TORNADO ESTIMATED VIA RADAR. |
| 22:09 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 2 W Allenville | Winnebago, WI | FUNNEL DROPPED OUT OF WALL CLOUD, WAS PRESENT BRIEFLY, THEN WENT BACK TO THE WALL CLOUD. WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM CONTACT WITH GROUND OR NOT |
| 22:09 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 2 W Allenville | Winnebago, WI | FUNNEL DROPPED OUT OF WALL CLOUD, WAS PRESENT BRIEFLY, THEN WENT BACK TO THE WALL CLOUD. WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM CONTACT WITH GROUND OR NOT. |
| 22:26 UTC | TORNADO | 1 E Butte Des Morts | Winnebago, WI | STORM CHASER PROVIDED PICTURE OF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN ON COUNTY ROAD S NEAR LAKE BUTTE DES MORTS. |
| 22:40 UTC | WATER SPOUT | 5 Se Oshkosh | Winnebago, WI | WATERSPOUT REPORTED OVER LAKE WINNEBAGO HEADED NORTHWARDS. RELAYED VIA WINNEBAGO EM |
| 22:40 UTC | WATER SPOUT | 5 Se Oshkosh | Winnebago, WI | WATERSPOUT REPORTED OVER LAKE WINNEBAGO HEADED NORTHWARDS. RELAYED VIA WINNEBAGO EM. |
| 23:12 UTC | FUNNEL CLOUD | 2 S High Cliff State Pa | Calumet, WI | TRAINED SPOTTER JUST SOUTH OF HIGH CLIFF STATE PARK SAW A ROTATING WALL CLOUD AND BRIEF FUNNEL THAT DID NOT REACH THE GROUND. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2020 tornado in WisconsinEvery tornado in Wisconsin since 1950Warnings in force in Wisconsin nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 20, 2020
5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
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.