Leader Staff
Shawano County on Sunday had the dubious honor of hosting Wisconsin’s first tornado of this year’s severe weather season, according to the National Weather Service.
The Weather Service said Wednesday that damage surveys confirmed a weak tornado touched down a few miles northwest of Gresham about 3:30 p.m., causing minor damage, mainly to trees.
The path length was 4.8 miles and the width was 75 yards. The tornado had peak winds of 70 to 80 mph, according to officials.
It dissipated about 3:40 p.m.
Other than a few trees, some shingles blown off a barn was the extent of the damage, said Natalie Easterday, Shawano County emergency management director.
“Nothing significant,” she said.
Tornado sirens went off in the western end of the county, so Gresham residents were alerted, Easterday said.
Easterday said the county plans to change its policy on sounding the sirens. In the future, a tornado spotted anywhere in the county will result in a countywide alert.
“All the sirens will go off,” she said.
Easterday stressed, however, that people shouldn’t rely only on the sirens.
“The sirens are only for if you’re outdoors,” she said.
Easterday encouraged people to get a weather alert radio to stay on top of severe weather conditions.