Storm Record · Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Jefferson, Sauk, Walworth, Waukesha Counties
April 13, 2026: Straight-line wind and tornadoes across seven counties
81
Strongest gust
3
Tornadoes
32
NWS reports
What the National Weather Service recorded
A line of strong to severe storms developed over central Wisconsin as warm, moist and unstable air aloft surged into the region. The line of storms then moved southeast across southern Wisconsin. Widespread wind damage occurred across much of south central to southeast Wisconsin, with two tornadoes documented along with the high winds.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database · episode 212183
Every report, in the Weather Service's words
Where It Hit
| Location | County | Hazard | Size | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Forest (1.01 W) | Dane | Wind | 81 mph wind | Many trees uprooted and snapped in DeForest. Power poles and powerlines down. A tree down on a house. Roof damage and siding damage to some homes from the strong winds. |
| Prairie Du Sac Arpt (.75 ESE) | Sauk | Wind | 81 mph wind | Numerous trees and powerlines down on the north side of Prairie Du Sac including uprooted trees. Some trees down on homes, garages and apartment buildings causing structural damage. Sheet metal removed from a portion of a roof of an industrial building. |
| Madison Morey Arpt (2.13 WSW) | Dane | Wind | 81 mph wind | Portions of a roof and beams lifted off a home. |
| Blooming Grove (.55 WSW) | Dane | Wind | 81 mph wind | A 1500 pound cattle gate blown over a concrete barrier at the Alliant Energy Center. A dumpster was flipped and moved a short distance. A large tensile structure was destroyed 4-5 trees blown down and 5 golf carts windshields were shattered. An AC unit was blown off the roof of a nearby hotel. Some minor roof damage to a nearby credit union. |
| Waterloo (.94 WSW) | Jefferson | Wind | 81 mph wind | A swath of scattered tree, power line, and structural damage across northern Jefferson County. This included many uprooted and snapped trees, power lines down, and fallen trees on vehicles especially in Waterloo and Watertown. Eight power poles were snapped on East Clarkson Rd. in Waterloo. A farm on highway B east of Johnson Creek suffered severe silo damage, and a grove of trees were knocked down nearby. |
| Cambridge (.7 NNW) | Jefferson | Wind | 81 mph wind | A swath of scattered tree, power line, and structural damage across central and southern Jefferson County. This included many uprooted and snapped trees, power lines down, and fallen trees on homes and vehicles especially in Fort Atkinson and Jefferson. The entire roof of a home was removed by the strong winds in Jefferson near the high school. Lakeview Cemetery in Fort Atkinson suffered significant tree damage with trees down on grave sites. An agricultural business near Hellenville sustained damage to fences and shelters built for animals. A 60 mph wind was estimated at the National Weather Service office several miles southeast of Sullivan. |
| East Bristol | Dane | Wind | 81 mph wind | Around one half of the roof removed from a large church. Some roof material collapsed into the church. Across the street, a pine tree was uprooted. Another pine tree snapped halfway up and landed on a machine shed. |
| Oconomowoc Lake (1.77 WSW) | Waukesha | Wind | 81 mph wind | A swath of scattered tree and powerline damage across the county, but with heavier concentrations of damage in some areas. There was widespread tree damage on the west side of Lake Okauchee, and also a concentration of uprooted and snapped trees, including some felled on homes, near North Prairie. Another concentration of many snapped pine trees near the intersection of Waterville Rd. and Robinhood Dr. Another concentration of trees and powerlines down near Big Bend and yet another in the Sussex area. |
| North Freedom (.69 S) | Sauk | Wind | 81 mph wind | A portion of the Fire Department's roof torn off in North Freedom. A few mobile homes with roof damage. Several trees uprooted and many tree limbs and powerlines down. Some trees down on homes. |
| Cross Plains (.08 NE) | Dane | Wind | 75 mph wind | Numerous trees snapped, uprooted, or downed on the north side of Cross Plains. Powerlines also down. Trees down on vehicles and homes. |
| Rock Spgs (1.83 NW) | Sauk | Wind | 75 mph wind | One silo destroyed and another heavily damaged on a farmstead. A tensile structure damaged and many trees or limbs down. |
| Dane (2.13 SSE) | Dane | Wind | 75 mph wind | Some sheet metal roofing and siding torn off a barn. |
| Blooming Grove (.93 S) | Dane | Wind | 75 mph wind | Many trees uprooted and snapped with some falling on homes and garages. One garage was demolished. |
| Fox Lake (1.3 SW) | Dodge | Wind | 75 mph wind | Widespread reports of tree and powerline damage across the county. A barn 3 miles north of Lowell had the north wall blown in, while the barn door in the south end was torn off and blown into a field. There was a greater concentration of uprooted and snapped trees southeast of Neosho and near Ashippun, extending to the Washington County line. Some structural damage reported to small buildings. |
| Rubicon (2.81 S) | Dodge | Wind | 75 mph wind | Dozens of trees uprooted or snapped. |
| Columbus (.5 W) | Columbia | Wind | 70 mph wind | Two large trees blown down and a pine tree snapped at 80 feet high in a neighborhood. Additional trees and tree limbs down in the neighborhood and across Columbus. One tree felled on a home causing roof damage. |
| Lodi (.86 SW) | Columbia | Wind | 70 mph wind | Dozens of trees snapped, uprooted, or downed in Lodi. Powerlines down as well. A small portion of a roof collapsed at a nursing home. |
| Portage (2.62 SW) | Columbia | Wind | 70 mph wind | Multiple barns with roof damage, and scattered trees and powerlines down throughout the county. |
| Merrimac (.29 NNW) | Sauk | Wind | 70 mph wind | Trees and powerlines down including some trees down on homes. |
| Mc Farland (1.01 W) | Dane | Wind | 70 mph wind | Multiple trees down with some down on homes and vehicles. |
| Waunakee | Dane | Wind | 70 mph wind | Some trees uprooted and snapped. |
| Loganville (.5 W) | Sauk | Wind | 70 mph wind | An outbuilding destroyed and multiple trees down. |
| Rock Spgs (.02 ENE) | Sauk | Wind | 66 mph wind | A pole shed down in Rock Springs. |
| Token Creek (1.47 NNE) | Dane | Wind | 64 mph wind | Numerous trees snapped about 10 to 15 feet above the ground. A felled tree onto a fiber glass roof shed, causing damage. |
| Baraboo (.82 WNW) | Sauk | Wind | 64 mph wind | Trees down in Baraboo including on at least one home. |
| Downtown Madison (2.05 SW) | Dane | Wind | 64 mph wind | Snapped pine tree falling onto a home. |
| Albion (3.03 N) | Dane | Wind | 64 mph wind | A 100 year old barn collapsed. |
| Lake Beulah (1.52 W) | Walworth | Wind | 64 mph wind | Several large tree downs. Another tree down on County Highway L just to the south. |
| Whitewater (.86 NW) | Walworth | Wind | 58 mph wind | A couple trees down on the north side of Whitewater. |
| Busseyville (2.72 NW) | Jefferson | Tornado | EF0 | Continuation of the Dane County/Rockdale tornado. Only briefly went into Jefferson county with a field tree line hit. |
| Utica (1.36 SSE) | Dane | Tornado | EF1 | Tornado appears to have started west of I-39 along Church Rd where it tracked to the north side before hitting a farmstead along Highway 73. Two metal barn structures were completely destroyed with sheet metal from these buildings found in the trees in the far farm hill to the east. A cement silo was also lifted up and had 3 large chunks of the cap broken off of it. The tornado appears to have gone southeast toward County Road A before ending near Woodside School Rd. Extensive straight line/rear flank downdraft wind damage occurred about a mile or two to the south of the tornado with one farm shed destroyed along Highway 73 south of Thornson Rd. Sheet metal from this building appeared to be tumbled into the nearby field to the east. |
| South Beaver Dam (2.17 ESE) | Dodge | Tornado | EF0 | Brief tornado started south of Beaver Dam and went through a garage near Shaw Hill Rd, west of the Shaw Marsh Wildlife Area. Other wind damage was noted on the southern side of the tornado path, attributed to downburst winds. |
Service areas this storm touched