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Neighbors help Milton residents clean up after NWS confirms tornado touchdown

The Rock County Sheriff’s Office tells TMJ4 they responded to calls for a tornado in Milton Sunday evening.
Kyle Lange and his daughter
Posted at 11:00 PM, May 26, 2024

MILTON — Neighbors in Milton are cleaning up after severe weather Sunday evening.

Storm cleanup in Milton

The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed an EF-0 tornado with 80 mph winds touched down in the area for 22 minutes this weekend.

NWS confirmed two other tornado touchdowns, including an EF-0 in Jefferson County and an EF-0 that started in Rock County and ended in South Jefferson County.

TMJ4 spoke to Taylor Patterson with the NWS, who was following the path of two storms that stretched from Rock to Jefferson counties.

Taylor Patterson
Taylor Patterson is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. She is surveying damage across Wisconsin after Sunday night’s storms.

Patterson said a good sign that a tornado has touched down is if things get picked up, carried, and dropped in a new location.

"That is a good indication that there's a tornado because straight-line wind damage tends to just push things over," said Patterson.

She reminds residents to seek shelter first thing during severe storms.

Storm damage in Milton

"As we’re entering this peak season for severe weather, make sure you have your plan in place for where to go to take shelter."

David and Donna Schroeder have lived in Milton for the past five years.

Dave and Donna
Dave and Donna’s front yard is filled with downed trees and branches. They’re grateful that both they’re okay and their house is untouched.

When they heard the sirens, they went straight to their basement to take cover. Afterward, they couldn’t believe what happened.

“What happened here? How did this small area get clipped and nothing else around it? It’s just bizarre,” David explained.

The Rock County Sheriff’s Office tells TMJ4 they responded to calls of a possible tornado.

Emergency crews responded and found downed power lines, trees, and minor structural damage to some homes.

The Sheriff said the majority of the damage they found was in the city of Milton.

Neighbors from all over the city showed up to help people like the Schroeders.

“I asked my wife who’s cooking dinner if I could go help out. My daughter asked if she could come too,” Kyle Lange, a neighbor, said.

“She pulled on the heartstrings and asked to be a superhero. Now she’s out here putting in the work,” Lange smiled.

His four-year-old daughter helped carry large branches from the Schroeders’ yard.

Kyle and his 4-year-old daughter
Kyle and his 4-year-old daughter came out to help neighbors clean up when they heard what happened.

RCSO said they went door-to-door to check on people and that no injuries were reported.


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