By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
The National Weather Service confirmed today an EF1 tornado resulted in tree and structure damage just north of Lake Geneva on Tuesday night in the Town of Lyons.
The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado on its Twitter page earlier today, noting winds associated with Tuesday’s tornado were estimated at 110-mph.
Tornado strength is measured on an enhanced F-scale rating (EF-rating) from EF0 to EF5, which uses three-second gusts estimated at the point of damage based on a judgement of eight-levels of damage to 28 different types of damage to various structures and trees, ranging from trees and light poles to schools and shopping malls, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). The association’s website states the EF-scale is merely a set of wind estimates, not measurements, based on damage.
An EF1 tornado on the operational EF scale, according to a graph on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s web page, falls on the lower end of the scale, with 3-second gust speeds reaching as high as 110 mph. With an EF5 tornado, 3-second gust speeds exceed 200-mph, according to the graph.
According to a press release from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office this morning, at about 9:14 p.m. last night, Aug. 18, the sheriff’s office and Town of Lyons Fire Department responded to the area of Madaus Street at Highway 120 in the Town of Lyons, for a report of a possible tornado.
Deputies, along with firefighters checked the area and found damage to many buildings in a small industrial park, according to the release, though no injuries or deaths are reported at this time.
