EVANSVILLE, Wis. (AP) — The first tornadoes ever recorded in Wisconsin in the usually frigid month of February tore through mostly rural areas on a day that broke records for warmth, setting up the perfect scenario for the type of severe weather normally seen in the late spring and summer.

The storms left a swath of destruction that included dead and missing cows, roofs blown off of homes, destroyed storage sheds and barns, trashed vehicles and shattered windows.

At least two tornadoes were confirmed south of Madison and the National Weather Service was investigating reports of several more spawned from storms that swept across the southeastern part of the state around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, said meteorologist Taylor Patterson.

One confirmed tornado near Evansville was a “high end” F2, the weather service said. Those tornadoes are described as “significant,” with winds in this particular twister topping out at 135 mph (220 kph). It was on the ground for 36 minutes, traveling 24.5 miles (39.4 km) with a maximum width of 500 yards (457.2 meters).

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    3411 months ago

    It rained in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada last week. It’s one of the coldest cities in the world with a half million people. We’re used to -40 this time of year, I can’t even take my kids tobogganing because there isn’t enough snow.

    This shit is absolutely wild.

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      1611 months ago

      Same here in Ottawa, ON, Canada. We had an actual thunderstorm yesterday and now it’s going up to 6C today. Absolutely insane weather for February