Roofs peeled off homes and power lines snapped across the Midwest as over 25 tornadoes hammered Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa on April 17 and 18.
Storms left more than 100 homes damaged, one person injured and 70,000 customers without power Saturday morning. No deaths occurred despite the widespread destruction.
In Lena, Illinois, an EF-2 tornado shredded the village center, scattering debris and downing power lines. Officials shut down the town initially, evacuating residents as cleanup crews moved in.
ComEd restored power to 99% of 43,000 affected customers in northern Illinois by evening on April 18. Crews focused final repairs in Lena and Rockford.
Stephenson County Sheriff Steve Stovall surveyed the damage Sunday morning.
An EF-3 tornado carved a path through Kronenwetter, Wisconsin, snapping trees and hurling debris into homes. EF-2 twisters struck near Rochester and Marion, Minnesota, flattening outbuildings and damaging over 30 structures in Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
Kronenwetter and Ringle, Wisconsin, saw homes leveled and roads blocked by fallen trees. Marathon County Sheriff Chad Billeb walked the sites April 19.
Cleanup accelerated across the region Sunday. National Weather Service teams confirmed 26 tornadoes by midday April 19, with surveys ongoing in Iowa.
FEMA deployed assessment teams to the hardest-hit areas, including Lena and Rochester. Red Cross shelters opened in Marathon County for displaced families.
Utility crews cleared 26 miles of downed lines in Illinois alone. Iowa Department of Homeland Security reported minor structural damage near the Mississippi River.
Meteorologist Steve Goss with the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wisconsin, tracked the outbreak from the Storm Prediction Center.
A rare late-spring setup funneled warm Gulf air into supercell thunderstorms, spawning the long-track tornadoes. Steve Goss, Meteorologist, National Weather Service La Crosse
Damage estimates climbed past $30 million by Sunday evening. Insurance adjusters fanned out to affected counties.
Governor Tony Evers of Wisconsin activated the state emergency operations center. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for Stephenson County.
Residents in Marion, Minnesota, sifted through wreckage Monday morning. One homeowner described watching her roof lift away as winds hit 130 mph.
Power flickered back on in nearly every outage zone by April 19 afternoon. Final assessments expected to wrap this week.
