This story has been updated as more information has become available.
MILTON — A confirmed tornado in the Milton area damaged homes and downed trees and power lines Sunday night, but no injuries were reported.
The National Weather Service on Monday confirmed that an F-0 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 80 miles per hour touched down west of Janesville, near Footville, around 5 p.m. Sunday and tracked east-northeast for 22 minutes, through Milton.
The National Weather Service also confirmed two other F-0 tornadoes touched down nearby Sunday night. One formed over Lake Koshkonong in Jefferson County around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, reaching wind speeds of 64 miles per hour. A third developed east of Janesville, touching down around 5:15 p.m. Sunday, and tracking north-northeast, ending between Fort Atkinson and Whitewater. It reached wind speeds of 80 miles per hour.
Following the report of a tornado in the Milton area around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office and Milton Police Department spent the evening investigating any reported property damage and injuries.
“The Rock County Highway Department, Milton Public Works, and Town of Koshkonong Public Works all responded to clear the roadways of the downed trees. The Lakeside Fire Department and Rock County Emergency Management responded as well,” said a Rock County Sheriff’s Office news release issued about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Around 5:45 p.m., local law enforcement and emergency responder radio traffic indicated damage in the Central Park and Milton High School area, including trees and power lines down and tipped-over bleachers from the reported tornado that crossed Business High 26 in Milton and appeared to continue on toward Fort Atkinson.
Rock County Sheriff Curt Fell said in the release later Sunday evening that, working with the Milton Police Department, it had identified “multiple downed trees and power lines,” in the Milton area.
Additionally “multiple residences were found to have sustained structural damage,” the release said.
Damaged business
An organic farm was hit by Sunday’s tornado, causing damage to the owners’ home, greenhouse, crops and animals.
A GoFundMe page was set up Monday for Southern Wisconsin Organics, 5113 E. Hwy. 14, Janesville, asking the community for help as it recovers.
“Thank God nobody got hurt, it could’ve been a lot worse. We could’ve lost our greenhouse completely,” owner Joe Kincade said. “It’s not crazy bad but it will take a lot of time to repair.”
Kincade he and another person tried to close and secure the greenhouse as the wind picked up Sunday, but it still saw some structural damage.
Many plants were lost as the strong wind ripped off crop ground coverings, “so we’re going to have to start over,” with those, Kincade said.
The farm has a tree nursery, which was open at the time so some trees were knocked over and damaged.
Southern Wisconsin Organics also raises chickens and turkeys. The chicken coop was picked up and flipped over, leaving chicks to run around the property as the owners try to corral them.
“We’re trying to see if we can reuse the coop, but we don’t know yet,” Kincade said.
The turkey house was picked up and dropped, injuring and killing many turkeys.
“For the most part, we’ll be able to recover. It’s just a mess,” Kincade said.
Sunday immediate response
About 5:45 p.m. Sunday, the Rock County 911 Center told The Gazette the level of property damage or injuries was unknown.
Around 6 p.m., a Rock County Sheriff’s Office incident command post had been set up at State Highway 26 and State Highway 59, according to radio traffic.
The 911 Center representative also said there were reports of wires down over a “large swath of area” between Edgerton and Milton, as tornado warnings extended from the Janesville area to the Fort Atkinson area Sunday evening.
On its website, forecast.weather.gov., the National Weather Service Office at Milwaukee/Sullivan said a trained spotter reported a tornado on the ground northwest of Whitewater in Jefferson County around 5:35 p.m. Sunday.
The National Weather Service Office website also listed around 5:25 p.m. reports of “trees uprooted or snapped” in the Milton area in Rock County.
Power outages
As of about 8 p.m Sunday, Alliant Energy reported 25 customers without power in the city of Milton due to a downed tree. Alliant Energy expected power to be restored to these customers by 9 p.m.
Alliant Energy also reported 36 customers without power in the town of Janesville. Those customers were expected to have power restored by 6 a.m. Monday. The cause of that outage was unclear.
Lakeside Fire-Rescue and the Milton Police Department were continuing around 8 p.m. to investigate reports of structural damage.
As of 8 p.m., there were no reports of injuries.
Jefferson County
Strong winds and funnel clouds were also reported near the Jefferson/Rock County border, but as of 8 p.m. there had been no confirmed touchdown of tornados in Jefferson County. The National Weather Service in Sullivan allowed the tornado warning in Jefferson County to expire at 6:25 p.m. and there was no indication of risk for further tornado activity.
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