BRANDON – No one was injured Friday evening when a low-grade tornado swept through the tiny village of Brandon in Fond du Lac County, snapping trees, damaging buildings and ripping down power lines.
Members of Fond du Lac County’s emergency management team and the National Weather Service of Sullivan were in the rural village on Saturday morning, assessing the damage.
Several Brandon residents said they saw a dark funnel cloud touch down in the town of 800, throwing debris into the air. Gusting winds and heavy rains swept through the area, and humidity was high, they said. The tornado lasted about one minute.
“It was there and then gone,” said Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Strand.
A damage survey team from the weather service has confirmed that the Brandon tornado was an EF 1 in intensity, said meteorologist Justin Schultz. At that level, winds can reach 110 mph. The tornado hit ground just south of the intersection of Pheasant Drive and Upland Drive, and ended along Reeds Corner Road, east of Brandon Road.
The tornado traveled a 4.5-mile path and was on the ground from 5:35 to 5:52 p.m.
It happened so fast no sirens were activated, said Jim McNabb, emergency management director for Fond du Lac County. There were no storm warnings or weather alerts – nothing for the county, he said. The 911 dispatch center was inundated with calls.
Kathy Waldschmidt, who lives on Main Street, three blocks from where the tornado struck, said she heard what sounded like a train for about 20 seconds.
The tornado moved in a straight line from south to north through the village, said Schultz, the meteorologist.
“We saw on the radar some very weak rotation, and in many cases what we saw last night usually would not form a tornado,” Schultz said. “This was just strong enough to drop down, even though it was weak, marginal in nature. Sometimes you have these brief ‘spin ups’ that last minutes.”
No major damage or injuries were reported, but about 25 homes were damaged and 667 customers lost electricity, said Scott Reigstad from Alliant Energy. Crews were on scene well into the morning working to restore power.
“We had a lot of wires down and downed poles that were damaged by high winds,” he said. “Most customers were back up by 9:30 p.m. and the last 100 customers were restored by 12:30 a.m.”
Officials stayed on scene into the night assessing damage and going door-to-door to check on residents in the four-block area.
Strand said all roads leading into the village were barricaded to keep out people who were just coming to look at the damage.
For a short time, radio frequencies were down that allow emergency personnel to communicate with each other, he said.
From a window of her duplex at 132 S. State St., Nohemi Herrera saw what looked like smoke, but was actually a heavy sheet of swirling rain. She saw the funnel shape pass over the middle of Brandon School, she said. As it got closer, she told her family to run to the basement.
A wall of the house was damaged, and Brandon School, at 200 W. Bowen St., lost a chunk of its roof.
State patrol, Fond du Lac County sheriff’s deputies, a LifeStar ambulance and firefighters from Rosendale, Waupun, Alta and Brandon were on scene to help residents. Authorities set up a command post at the corner of Main and Center streets downtown.
A home at 122 South Center St. had the metal sheeting of its roof torn and tree limbs blanketed the lawn. Sheila Engel, who owns the home with her husband, was in the kitchen during the storm.
“I was doing the dishes, and I saw debris swirling outside,” she said. “I said to my husband, ‘Lets get down to the basement.’ ”
But the storm was over in 20 seconds, before they got to the basement, she said.
Minutes after the tornado ended, residents ventured out of their homes with chainsaws. They asked the Engels and other residents affected by the storm how they could help, she said.
Kevin Jones, who lives at 122 E. Bowen St., said the storm ended as suddenly as it began.
“I heard this rumbling noise and I looked out the window and saw nothing but debris and a funnel — a black funnel,” he said. “And just like that it was pretty much over.”
Reach Nate Beck at 920-858-9657 or nbeck@gannett,com; on Twitter: @NateBeck9. Doug Raflik at 920-907-7815 or draflik@gannett.com. Sharon Roznik @ sroznik@fdlreporter.com or 920-907-7936; on Twitter: @sharonroznik.
Power lines were knocked down as winds swirled through
By:Nate Beck, Doug Raflik and Sharon Roznik, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin 3:06 p.m. CDT May 28, 2016
Picture: Power lines were knocked down as winds swirled through downtown Brandon. (Photo: Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
