Oakfield Tornado

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The Oakfield Tornado is the name of a tornado which destroyed Oakfield, Wisconsin on July 18, 1996. [1] In addition, strong thunderstorms brought heavy rains, lightning, and gusty winds to that region of Fond du Lac County. All of these elements resulted from the passage of a cold front. The violent tornado developed outside of town and moved southeastward across Wisconsin taking direct aim at Oakfield. At 7:15 p.m. the large tornado struck the 1,012 person town, injuring 17 people but killing none. Damage estimates totaled over $40 million as 47 of 327 homes were destroyed. Also 56 homes as well as numerous businesses and churches suffered heavy damage. A state of emergency was declared by Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson allowing National Guard soldiers to be called in to aid victims and clear debris.

The tornado was strong enough to level the Friday Canning Company, while throwing up millions of empty cans and leaving them sprawled over a 50 mile radius. Besides structural damage to buildings the tornado was very costly to farmers; Crops, livestock, and farm equipment were also gone. The original National Weather Service report from Milwaukee/Sullivan categorized the tornado to be a F3 to F4 tornado on the Fujita scale, with winds of 158-260 mph. It was later upgraded to an F5, winds greater than 261 mph, the most severe tornado possible. It would be the only F5 tornado to hit the United States that year. The tornado width when it reached its maximum strength was about 100 yards wide, making it one of the narrowest F5's on record. The storm was documented by an experienced storm chaser.

There were eleven other tornadoes in Wisconsin from this storm complex, with one death at Marytown, Wisconsin.