NWS confirms tornado near Sparta May 19, the 6th in Wisconsin this year

TOWN OF WELLS (MONROE COUNTY), Wis. (WEAU) - The National Weather Service in La Crosse confirmed a tornado near Sparta on May 19.

The confirmation on Saturday brings the total number of tornadoes in Wisconsin in 2022 to six.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the brief tornado affected two properties on Javelin Road in the Town of Wells, about five miles southeast of Sparta. Damage was done to a shed that had farm equipment in it and a camper was destroyed after being thrown about 100 feet into a tree. Additionally, several pieces of farm equipment were flipped over in a field. Trees were damaged along the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail, which the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources was working to clean up to open the trail by this weekend.

The NWS said the tornado traveled about a quarter of a mile and was 35 yards wide. The peak winds of the EF0 tornado were estimated to be 85mph. The tornado lasted for only about a minute, from 8:20 to 8:21 p.m. No one was hurt or killed by the tornado.

The NWS said that so far in 2022, there have been six confirmed tornadoes in Wisconsin. Four of them happened on May 9, including two in Dunn County, one in Polk County and one in Pepin County. One of the Dunn County tornadoes damaged a golf course and was rated an EF1. On March 8, a tornado was confirmed in Dane County southeast of Madison.