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news
By Peter Nocerini
Special to the Reporter
IRON RIVER — An updated news report from the Green Bay office of the National Weather Service has confirmed that a second tornado swept through the Northwoods near Iron County on the night of Aug. 9.
Earlier reports told of straight-line wind damage in the Golden Lake area in far western Iron County and an EF-1 tornado near Peavy Pond Road in southeastern Iron County.
The new report said an EF-1 tornado struck an area in far northeast Forest County, Wisconsin. The area is almost straight south of Iron River, between the state line and Wisconsin Highway 70, about 4.3 miles east of Alvin, Wisconsin.
There were no injuries or building damage from the storm.
The NWS Green Bay office report came in a public information statement issued Aug. 31. It said the tornado path was identified from satellite imagery and later confirmed by ground surveys conducted by the NWS Green Bay and Marquette offices.
The tornado first touched down at about 9:12 p.m. about 100 yards west of Gaspardo Road and moved northeast to about 0.3 miles north of Ramsdell Lake. It then veered east and reached its maximum width (250 yards) before crossing Huff Creek Road.
After briefly entering Florence County, the storm then crossed the Brule River into Michigan and dissipated near M-189, about a tenth of a mile north of the state line at about 9:22. The tornado uprooted and snapped softwood and hardwood trees along its 4.6-mile path. Its highest winds were estimated at 105 mph.
If you compare locations and times, it seems very possible that this is the same storm system that later produced the EF-1 tornado near Peavy Pond Road.
The Forest County storm formed at 9:12 p.m. at 45.982N-88.741W (latitude-longitude coordinates) and ended at 9:22 at 45.989N-88.648W, traveling 4.6 miles.
The Peavy Pond storm touched down at 46.02N-88.23W at about 9:51 p.m. and dissipated at 46.03N-88.15W at around 9:56. The storm covered 3.82 miles with a maximum width of 250 yards and peak winds of 105 mph.