Tornado in Wisconsin

Thanks Bozette for this story!!

Hartford Wisconsin - A tornado mowed through a neighborhood on the city's south side Sunday afternoon, peeling off much of the Lincoln Elementary School's roof, shredding garages, yanking large trees out of lawns and injuring at least three people. The twister that struck the Washington County community of 8,200 was later determined to be an F-1 tornado on the Fujita scale, indicating winds of 73 to 112 mph. When Mayor Scott Henke heard about the severe weather headed toward his city, he drove to City Hall and at 2:28 p.m. sounded Hartford's tornado. siren. One minute later, a Hartford police officer saw a funnel cloud barreling toward the community. While some folks dashed to basements, others didn't think it could possibly be a tornado. Pete Zenner looked out his front window a block away from Lincoln Elementary and saw what looked like a flock of black birds swirling in a circle. He squinted and realized it actually wasn't birds; it was pieces of debris whipping around, probably parts of the school's roof. As his wife ran to the basement, he decided to look out the window again. "It looked like a tornado funnel - just huge chunks of stuff swirling around fast," said Zenner. Zenner's home was not among the approximately 50 houses Henke said were damaged by the tornado. Aside from Lincoln Elementary, 10 businesses were damaged by winds and flying debris, the mayor said, and part of the roof of the Silver Bell Motel on Grand Ave. was torn away. A 78-year-old man broke his hip when he slipped while running to his basement. Henke said he was treated at Aurora Medical Center of Washington County. Also, a 73-year-old woman broke her wrist when she fell while taking cover. "I expected much worse. We escaped the brunt of it," said Henke, who has been mayor for nine years. Donna and Keith Mertz were watching TV when the tornado alert interrupted the NASCAR race they were watching. Keith Mertz grabbed a blanket and flashlight, looked out the window and told his wife to hurry. Donna Mertz, who ruptured her Achilles tendon three weeks ago, hobbled to the basement stairs along with the couple's dogs, a border collie named Bear and Deuce, a blue heeler. "I just sat down underneath the (basement) steps. I grabbed a dog, he grabbed a dog. Then we heard a bang and that was it," said Donna Mertz, a veterinarian. Spotted in Dodge County The twister was first spotted at 2:27 p.m., moving southeast from Rubicon in Dodge County and heading toward the southern portion of Hartford, said Darrin Hansing, a National Weather Service meteorologist at Sullivan. Tornado activity was reported elsewhere in the area Sunday afternoon. A funnel cloud was sighted in Jefferson County east of Watertown at 2:43 p.m., and there were multiple reports, probably of the same funnel cloud, at 2:53 p.m. in Stoughton. Pictures 3 and 5 are of the debris from the school which is in the back ground 1and 2 is a garage that was totaled 4 is a hotel that was also totaled.