There were no reports of fatalities or injuries as of Monday evening, but emergency officials were still searching, said Gordon Hintz, Winnebago County’s top elected official.
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado in Winnebago County, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. Damage was reported in cities including Appleton and Menasha, where Police Chief Matt Albrecht said some homes and businesses were “severely impacted.”
The twister was spun off by a large storm system that moved through the Great Lakes, fueled by a buildup of heat and humidity, National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Berschback said.
Hintz said it could be several days before power in the stricken area is restored.
Heather Schroeder said she heard cracking and popping all around her as the tornado tore apart a laundromat, a bakery and a neighborhood tavern that were clustered around a street corner in Menasha, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Green Bay.
Rescue workers pulled someone out of one of the buildings, said Schroeder, who works nearby. She said it wasn’t clear if the person had survived. Cars were turned upside-down, and there was a gas leak at the laundromat, she said.
“There’s nothing left,” Schroeder said.
The twister ripped roofs off homes and flipped vehicles in one neighborhood in Menasha, just blocks from the shores of Lake Winnebago. Video showed a trail of destruction, with some homes reduced to their outer walls.
Greg Van Driest was working in downtown Appleton when the sky got as dark as night.
“The word we all were using was ‘ominous,’” he said. “It’s like, ‘Whoa, look at that.’ ... You looked outside and you thought it was three in the morning, it was that dark.”
