EF-0 tornado briefly touched down near Sparta Thursday night, NWS says

SPARTA, Wis. — The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down southeast of Sparta Thursday night.

The tornado was on the ground for roughly one minute and had a path of just over a quarter-mile. It packed winds of 85 miles per hour, putting it at the high end of the EF-0 category on the Enhanced Fujita scale. The scale, which classifies tornadoes by estimated wind speeds, runs from EF-0 to EF-5, with EF-5 being the strongest.

The agency tweeted the tornado damaged some buildings, trees and a camper. No injuries or deaths were reported.

While little rain fell in Madison Thursday night, parts of west-central Wisconsin saw a radar-estimated five inches or more of rain.

Forty-one tornadoes were confirmed in Wisconsin in 2021, more than double the number the state saw in 2020.