LITTLE GEMS

Three rounds of tornado warnings, sirens, and storms rumbled through Walworth County last week.
The first touched down north of Poplar Grove, Illinois at 2:05 p.m. and moved northeast. It entered Wisconsin in Walworth County, moving along the southeastern limits of the village of Walworth, before lifting into the air at 2:25 p.m. just south of Geneva Lake. When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down, which is exactly what happened. Stores closed, asking patrons to find shelter in their establishment, kids were held at school until an all-clear was established and the town was eerily silent.

The second round of thunderstorms developed along a warm front and lifted into southwest Wisconsin around 7 PM. Storms exited southeast Wisconsin around 10 PM. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 tornado with estimated winds of 80 mph hit southern Walworth County from east of Sharon to west of Walworth. NWS confirmed another tornado, just south of Darien. That one was an EF-1 with estimated winds of 90mph. Those storms were packed with strong wind, rain, hail, and quite a bit of lightning. Crews worked around the clock to clean up damage from around the county with trees being uprooted, farm fields blown into neighbor’s yards, roofs blown off, and barns blown down causing some roads to be closed for some time. There were many without power, including over 1,100 customers in Walworth County. Thankfully, power has been restored and cleanup will continue.

Place of the Week

Lake City Social on Center Street has great food. They will be hosting artists painting murals for downtown.