STOUGHTON, Wis. -- Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has declared a state of emergency for Dane and Richland Counties.

The National Weather Service said Friday that 18 possible tornadoes ripped through Wisconsin last night, killing one person and leaving widespread destruction.

Lori Getter, of the state Division of Emergency Management, said the storm killed one person and sent five others to hospitals.

The person who died in the collapse of his home near Stoughton has been identified as 54-year-old Harold Orlofske. The Dane County coroner said Orlofske died from injuries suffered at his Town of Pleasant Springs home.

Four people remain hospitalized in Dane County.

According to Getter, 15 homes were destroyed in Stoughton and about 35 others had moderate to severe damage.

She said the storms also caused extensive damage to the west in the village of Viola on the Richland-Vernon county line.

Getter said three people there went to a hospital with injuries and about 70 to 80 homes were damaged.

A witness captured the Stoughton tornado on his camera phone. David Murray, of Stoughton, told WISC-TV of Madison that "The sky just exploded. It was debris everywhere."

He said he saw the tornado move across the road and just keep growing.

The National Weather Service issued the series of tornado warnings as the storms pushed eastward across the state.

Downpours of rain accompanied the storms, which came after many areas received lighter rains and thunderstorms earlier Thursday. Those storms had knocked down power lines, causing outages in parts of the southwest, including Lafayette County.

Rescue workers faced challenges getting to areas that needed assistance.

"One of the issues we ran into was there were so many trees down in some of these areas that it was very difficult for emergency crews to get in a lot of these areas have very large trees. When they cross the roads, we were at the point that some of the larger fire vehicles weren't able to pass," Stoughton Fire Chief Martin Lamers said.

Weather Watch 12 Meteorolgoist Lance Hill described what happened.

"A strong area of low pressure moved from La Crosse to Green Bay. South of its path, warm humid air was pulled north converging along the warm front. With a strong jet stream aloft, storms rapidly exploded over southern Wisconsin. Several of these storms produced funnel clouds and at least one tornado."

IMAGES: Tornado Damage

Hill said that Friday should be sunny and hot for all of southern Wisconsin.

State emergency management officials released an overview with information on major storm damage:

Dane County -- One person was killed and five people were hospitalized with injuries when a tornado hit the Stoughton area. About 15 homes were destroyed and 30 to 35 homes received moderate to severe damage.
Richland County -- About 70 to 80 homes in village of Viola were damaged from a tornado. Three homes were destroyed and three people were taken to a hospital for injuries.
Monroe County -- A tornado touched down in the town of Tomah. Early damage assessments report five homes damaged with two reporting major damage.
Grant County -- A tornado touched down in or near the village of Muscoda. Some homes have minor damage.
Sauk County -- One home destroyed and one house had major damage. Two other buildings destroyed and a few others with minor damage.

Viola

Broken trees, wind-tossed debris and dangling power lines choked access to the community of Viola on the Richland-Vernon county line.

About 80 homes or businesses were damaged, some heavily by Thursday's twister. Three homes were destroyed and three people were taken to the hospital with injuries.

The main streets in Viola were cleared by last evening. The Red Cross provided cots, blankets and food at a temporary shelter set up at a local church.

Stay with WISN 12 News for continuing coverage of the tornado.