Drone video shows EF-2 tornado wreckage in Janesville, Wisconsin

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NWS confirms tornado damage in Wisconsin

National Weather Service survey teams confirmed EF-2 tornado damage in Janesville, Wisconsin after the twister touched down on Saturday evening. 

JANESVILLE, Wis. – At least one large tornado was spotted moving through southeast Wisconsin on Saturday night, leaving a path of destruction and power outages in its wake.

Janesville city officials said a tornado touched down on the south side of the community, causing considerable damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure.

Storm spotters in the area recorded video showing the twister when the tornado-warned storm was moving through Rock County about 8:30 p.m.

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Drone video from the Chicago and Midwest Storm Chasers showed several homes with significant damage, including missing roofs and campers flipped over by the powerful weather system. 

Officials said they activated the city's Emergency Operations Center and resources are available for residents impacted by the severe weather event. Officials also said they are looking for volunteers to help with storm cleanup.

Parts of Janesville, including Center Avenue, Kellog Avenue, Beloit Avenue and State Highway 11, have been closed due to disaster response. 

Many large trees were snapped in half and power poles were down in the area. 

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Damage survey teams with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee gave the Janesville tornado a preliminary rating of EF-2 based on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

Tornado damage was also reported west of Janesville in Lafayette County.

According to the parish website, Apple Grove Lutheran Church in Argyle was destroyed by a tornado Saturday evening. 

"The good news is we are all safe and we continue to be the body of Christ and will through this time as well," the message read.

The NWS Milwaukee said a tornado likely caused the damage in Argyle but a survey team would not be out in the area until Monday. 

Suspected tornado damage in Argyle, Wisconsin seen on Sunday, June 23, 2024.

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On Sunday morning, thousands were without power across the Great Lakes and Midwest, including nearly 12,000 in Wisconsin and 22,000 in Illinois. Most of the outages in Wisconsin are in Rock and Walworth counties.