8/18/2005 Stoughton, WI Tornado - Short Documentary

[Mike Thornton]

This tornado impacted my life hugely, it is why I love Meteorology and Weather! On August 18th, 2005 27 tornadoes touched down in Wisconsin. The most significant being the Stoughton F-3 Tornado.
Video link here!

 

[Andy Wehrle]

Nice, thanks for sharing! At the time I was living (and my parents still do) on Red Oak Drive just south of Skaalen Road. The tornado just missed us to the north before crossing Skaalen Road and taking out a historic farmhouse on the next hill to the east. I have bittersweet memories of this day because I feel like it was the ultimate backyard chase and I botched it. Had I realized earlier that there was in fact a significant tornado in progress and that it was moving slowly, I could have gotten 5-10 minutes quality footage of it approaching before having to take cover. Instead, by the time I stepped outside there were violently rotating clouds overhead and debris dropping out of the sky into our yard, and I had to run for cover! The actual funnel was obscured by the trees that surround our house (several of which were felled by the inflow jet and/or RFD) so I only glimpsed the edge of it.

 

[Mike Thornton]

Nice, thanks for sharing! At the time I was living (and my parents still do) on Red Oak Drive just south of Skaalen Road. The tornado just missed us to the north before crossing Skaalen Road and taking out a historic farmhouse on the next hill to the east. I have bittersweet memories of this day because I feel like it was the ultimate backyard chase and I botched it. Had I realized earlier that there was in fact a significant tornado in progress and that it was moving slowly, I could have gotten 5-10 minutes quality footage of it approaching before having to take cover. Instead, by the time I stepped outside there were violently rotating clouds overhead and debris dropping out of the sky into our yard, and I had to run for cover! The actual funnel was obscured by the trees that surround our house (several of which were felled by the inflow jet and/or RFD) so I only glimpsed the edge of it.

Thanks! I'm originally from Monticello, WI. But I was in Stoughton and about 1 mile away from the tornado the day it occurred, I remember hiding in a basement scared out of my mind. (At the time I was 8 years old) Since that day, I have been fascinated with weather. Interestingly enough only a month or two later I moved to Stoughton.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Stormtrack mobile app

 

[Andy Wehrle]

I was 19 at the time and about to start my sophomore year at UW-Green Bay, but staying at home for the summer. I had been a member of ST for not quite a year, and had been religiously following the SPC outlooks every day during the spring and summer for about 2 1/2 years. I can tell you I was NOT prepared for Wisconsin's record-setting tornado outbreak including a long-track killer F3 that would almost hit me to occur on a slight risk day in mid-August.

Some of my pics of the damage, two days after the storm. I believe the third one is the house where the one fatality occurred.

 

[Andy Wehrle]

More pics, since apparently I can only embed 7 per post. The last one is an arborist working on our damaged trees a few days later.

 

[Andy Wehrle]

Some of my video from the day, including the sirens blowing, debris falling out of the sky into our yard underneath strongly rotating clouds (over which I have dubbed some of the 911 calls in place of my panicked shouting), wind blowing outside the window of our basement with commentary from me, my mother, and our cat, the back side of the supercell after it passed, and some stills of the damage.

 

[rachelgkonkle]

Here are a couple of photos I took from Somers (Kenosha County), WI around 7:00 of the Stoughton supercell. I am looking NW and N.

 

[Mike Thornton]

Here are a couple of photos I took from Somers (Kenosha County), WI around 7:00 of the Stoughton supercell. I am looking NW and N.

I remember seeing that gorgeous updraft as I was leaving Stoughton, WI after the tornado had occurred. I remember being in awe by how gorgeous the structure was with the sun backlit off of it.

 

[Mike Thornton]

Some of my video from the day, including the sirens blowing, debris falling out of the sky into our yard underneath strongly rotating clouds (over which I have dubbed some of the 911 calls in place of my panicked shouting), wind blowing outside the window of our basement with commentary from me, my mother, and our cat, the back side of the supercell after it passed, and some stills of the damage.

Where did you find those 911 calls?!?!?! I have NEVER heard those 911 calls before.

 

[Andy Wehrle]

Where did you find those 911 calls?!?!?! I have NEVER heard those 911 calls before.

I work for a local TV station in Madison, they were on an old cassette tape I found in the newsroom.

 

[Mike Thornton]

I work for a local TV station in Madison, they were on an old cassette tape I found in the newsroom.

As a complete side note, hopefully you weren't working with Charlie Shortino when he made that ridiculous comment to that woman that went viral. 😂 I remember watching Gary and Charlie a lot during the late 2000s. I haven't watched a single bit of Madison news since 2016 because I moved to Oklahoma, but I'm happy they are still there. Anyhow, I really found it cool hearing those 911 calls because I have never heard them before and I just find that really cool from a historical aspect.

 

[Mike Thornton]

Those would have definitely been useful in the documentary!