The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning Friday night for southern Green Lake County, Wisconsin, and said a tornado was on the ground as the storm moved through the region. A separate warning remained in effect for southern Juneau County, giving people in both counties only minutes to get under cover.
At 9:01 p.m. CDT, the weather service said a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was near Markesan, about 15 miles southwest of Ripon, and moving southeast at 20 mph. Two minutes later, it said another severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was near Elroy, near Mauston, and moving east at 35 mph, with southern Juneau County under warning until 9:30 p.m. and southern Green Lake County until 9:45 p.m.
The storm threat stretched beyond the county lines. Markesan, Ripon, Mauston, Elroy, Manchester, Kingston and Marquette were among the places named in the alert, along with Arrowhead Resort Campground, Dells Timberland Campground, Lindina, Lyndon Station, Stand Rock Campground, Eagle Park Campground and Bass Lake Campground. The weather service warned that flying debris could be dangerous to anyone caught without shelter, that mobile homes could be damaged or destroyed, and that roofs, windows, vehicles and trees could all take hits.
The warning came with the usual but crucial distinction between a tornado watch and a tornado warning: one means conditions are primed, the other means a tornado is imminent or already on the ground. In this case, the agency said people should move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, avoid windows and seek the closest substantial shelter if they were outdoors, in a mobile home or in a vehicle.
What was not yet clear Friday night was whether the tornado had already caused confirmed damage or injuries. The next hard deadline was the clock itself: southern Juneau County’s warning was set to end first, at 9:30 p.m., with southern Green Lake County following at 9:45 p.m. if no new warning extended the danger.
