Tornadoes, historic flooding batter Minnesota and Wisconsin, trigger emergency response

Severe weather hit Minnesota and Wisconsin in overlapping waves, leaving tornado damage, flooded streets and emergency managers scrambling to protect homes and roads at the same time. In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Order #289 on April 15 after visiting Union Center in Juneau County and seeing storm damage firsthand. The order followed record rainfall, flooding, structural damage, evacuations and power outages, and state officials said the emergency declaration was needed to marshal every available resource to protect communities and critical infrastructure.

Wisconsin’s State Emergency Operations Center had already been elevated to Level 2 on April 13 as storms brought strong winds, hail, tornadoes and heavy rain across the state. The National Weather Service had confirmed three tornadoes in central and southeastern Wisconsin by April 15, including a strong EF3 tornado near Union Center on April 14, according to the National Weather Service La Crosse office. That outbreak also produced hail up to 3.5 inches in diameter and baseball-size wind-driven hail that damaged homes, buildings and vehicles in Vernon County, including Westby and Cashton.

Flooding compounded the destruction. Floodwaters from record rainfall inundated streets in Milwaukee, stranded cars on a highway and prompted the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office to warn people not to drive. At least 20 Wisconsin counties were under flood warnings on April 15, and officials warned that some rivers were expected to reach major flood stage in the following days. The widening emergency left crews tracking two hazards at once: tornado debris in one area, rising water in another.

Minnesota faced its own surge of severe weather on April 17, when at least three tornadoes were reported in southeastern Minnesota. The Rochester International Airport tower reported a tornado on the ground near Highway 63 north of Stewartville around 2:30 p.m., and local reports said tornado damage reached the Rochester area and Stewartville. Olmsted County officials said dozens of people were displaced but no injuries were reported. The American Red Cross opened a shelter at Autumn Ridge Church in Rochester to help residents who could not return home.

The full scope of the damage will continue to be refined as survey teams finish their work. NOAA’s Storm Events Database, built from National Weather Service reports, serves as the official record for severe weather, and preliminary tornado counts can change as assessments are completed. For communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the immediate challenge was not just recovery from one storm, but trying to rebuild while the next threat was still unfolding.