A tornado is confirmed to have hit Door County's Washington Island on May 21, first in county since 2000
WASHINGTON ISLAND - Door County saw its first tornado in 24 years last week, the National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday.
The NWS said a tornado struck Washington Island during the storms that blasted much of the state the night of May 21, with wind speeds in the twister as high as 90 mph carving a path about 50 yards wide for 2.28 miles in the two minutes it was on the ground.
The tornado reportedly formed over the water south of the Island. It first struck land near Detroit Harbor at about 10:32 p.m. and traveled north-northeast to the center of the Island before lifting off at about 10:34 p.m.
The 90 mph peak wind speeds in the Island twister classify it as an EF1 or "moderate" tornado on the weather service's rating system.
No injuries were reported as a direct result of the storm although one outbuilding was destroyed and other buildings damaged, according to several media reports.
But the Washington Island Electric Cooperative reported on its Facebook page the morning after that the entire Island, about 1,200 customers, was without electrical power. Many trees fell or snapped, breaking wires and blocking roads. Crews from the electric cooperative were methodically repairing damages and restoring power but some locations remained without electricity as of May 26.
Media reports said a Michels line worker was electrocuted Saturday morning on Washington Island. The death is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“OSHA opened the investigation with Michels Underground Cable, Inc. No further information will be available until OSHA has completed their investigation, which, by law, OSHA has 6 months to complete,” said OSHA spokesman Scott Allen told WTAQ.
With the addition of the Door County twister, the weather service now has confirmed eight tornadoes that struck the state on May 21. Two were reported in Marathon County, in the Village of Unity and Village of Edgar, and one in Kaukauna in Outagamie County. All were classed as EF1 tornadoes, with estimated peak wind speeds of 105 mph for the one in Unity, 95 mph for the Kaukauna twister and 90 mph for the one in Edgar.
Other EF1 tornadoes occurred in Merrick State Park and Cochrane in Buffalo County, Arcadia in Trempealeau County and rural Alma Center in Jackson County.
Door County's last tornado that touched down on land occurred on June 13, 2000, when a 50-mile-wide twister, rated F0, stayed on the ground for a tenth of a mile about 1½ miles northeast of Forestville, according to the National Weather Service. The county has seen waterspouts seven times since then, the most recent on Oct. 15, 2019, near Deaths Door.
The last tornado in Door County that was stronger than the one May 21 occurred Aug. 23, 1998, near Egg Harbor, when an F3 tornado struck a rural section and stayed on the ground for nearly 14 minutes and left damage over a 5.1-mile-long path.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Tornado is confirmed to have hit Washington Island during May 21 storm
