This is Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Emergency Management, the National Weather Service and Wisconsin Broadcasters Association are once again teaming up for statewide tornado drills scheduled for Friday. Waupun emergency management director B.J. DeMaa says its an opportunity for everyone to test their severe weather emergency plans. According to the National Weather Service, Wisconsin averages 23 tornadoes annually. However, last year there were 33 confirmed tornadoes including 19 on August 28, the second largest August tornado outbreak in Wisconsin history. One of those tornadoes tore through the Alto area and DeMaa says its effects are still visible today. One of the tornadoes near Brownsville in Dodge County was rated EF2 with winds near 125 mph-the strongest of the year.
