Power Outage in Grantsburg, WI

The sheriff dispatch center received numerous reports of trees and power lines down.

Widespread tree damage was noted with power lines down. Several large trees were uprooted and many trees were on buildings and blocking roads.

Numerous trees were blown down and power was knocked out.

Partial roof loss to two buildings was found, along with widespread tree damage and large trees uprooted. Highway 70 and many side roads were impassable, with no power. The Red Cross opened a shelter to distribute food and water. Estimated wind speed is derived from the NWS WFO Duluth Storm Survey.

There was widespread tree damage. All power lines along County Road H between Webb Lake and Fish Lake were blown down.

The tornado touched down at 806 pm local daylight time 1.5 miles east of Grantsburg and traveled east at an average speed of 40 mph through the village of Siren to the Washburn County line, then continued on to a point 3 miles west of Spooner. The path of the tornado averaged 1/8 to 1/4 mile, but reached its greatest width of ½ mile as it approached Siren around 820 pm, where it did F-3 damage. Two people were killed by the tornado, and there were 16 injuries. Four hundred homes were destroyed, 200 in Siren alone, with 280 homes damaged, and 60 businesses destroyed or damaged. Most of the damage occurred in an 8-block area of Siren. Approximately 14,000 acres of trees were leveled along the tornado path. The two people killed were in Dewey Township, about 14 miles east of Siren. An 80-year-old woman was crushed by a falling wall while trying to get to the basement, and a 77-year-old man was found dead about 100 yards from his demolished home, presumably thrown there by tornado-force winds. Many buildings in the path of the tornado through Dewey Township, including the Dewey Town Hall, were destroyed as well. Power lines, trees, and buildings were also damaged or destroyed at Alpha, Falun, and Mud Hen Lake along the path of the tornado between Grantsburg and Siren. Fifteen cows were lost when a barn collapsed near Falun. Some were killed outright. Others were injured and had to be put down.

A powerful mid summer storm system over the western Dakotas, combined with warm moist air surging northward from the Gulf of Mexico was responsible for the widespread severe weather outbreak across the Upper Midwest.

Brutally cold temperatures combined with winds in the 10 to 20 mph range to create dangerous wind chills across portions of northwest Wisconsin in early February. Wind chills below -40 were common February 3rd through the 5th. The cold wave closed schools, suspended some outdoor activities, and burst pipes because of the lack of snow cover. Power companies urged their customers to conserve energy during this cold wave, as the region's electrical grid became stressed. It was the longest period of cold since 1996. Lows in the -20s were common across northwest Wisconsin during this first weekend in February into Monday morning.