25 years ago my hometown was leveled by an F5 tornado

[694spdRT]

Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the F5 tornado that hit Barneveld, WI. I grew up in this town and had moved with my parents to Florida two years earlier. Nearly the entire town was destroyed. We flew back from Florida two days later and spent several weeks helping friends clean up and go through what was left. My parents still owned property in town including a metal shed that my '68 Charger was stored in at the time. Another shed that dad had stored some of original parts to the car in and other stuff was leveled and everything was gone. Until typing this I had never really thought about the Charger surviving an F5 tornado and it is a rather unimportant compared to the people that did not survive. In a town of 600 nine people died and several hundred were injured. My parents new everyone who died and were close friends with several of the families. My grandparents were out playing cards and had left Barneveld, by the time they drove 15 miles home it was on the radio that a tornado had hit. Two of the houses I had lived in earlier were completed destroyed. There are so many stories about tornados that people tell that are unbelievable until you actually see it first hand. 

We still have land on the edge of town and there is still some debris scattered around in the woods if you dig around.


http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/47162392.html

[TruckDriver]

I remember that night. I grew up in Hartford. I remember waking up cause of the storms and high winds.  So I went down stars to turn on the radio to see if the weather was something to be worried about. As soon as I touched the on switch, a big flash od lightning and crash of thunder, then the power went out. It honestly scared the crap out of me. Well, that woke up my parents too. They came down stars and by then the power came back on. Well, my mom has always been into listening to the police scanner. So she turned it on, and we heard about Barneveld. The storm that produced that tornado, eventually came right over Hartford too, and , to this day, we think a tornado skimmed the town by us too. There was no tornado damage, but you could sure hear it. I still get chills thinks about that night. As it turned out, when the power went out by us, it was the exact same time Barneveld got hit by the tornado.

[69bronzeT5]

Tornadoes have been one thing I've always been afraid of. Ever since I was a little kid and watched Twister, they have freaked me out....more when I was a little kid though. Just a side note, did the Charger survive or?

[694spdRT]

Just a side note, did the Charger survive or?

Yes it did and I still have it today.

This is a picture of it a couple years before the tornado. This was near the downtown and everything in the picture was destroyed. I assume the fire truck was lost as well because the fire station received a direct hit.

[694spdRT]

Even though I lived one street over from this it is hard to tell with all the damage, but judging from the power poles and grain bin in the distance, I think this is the same street after the tornado hit.

[PocketThunder]

Even though I lived one street over from this it is hard to tell with all the damage, but judging from the power poles and grain bin in the distance, I think this is the same street after the tornado hit.

Looks like it.  The small hill in the background can be made out in both pics.   

[TruckDriver]

I remember the water tower was the only thing that was left standing in the town, and even that was bent. When they took it down, the were finding news papers under the water tower base. And yes, the fire truck was destroyed in the tornado, was well as the whole fire department building.

[Landonsrt]

I know how you feel about tornados. I dont have anything as bad as that happen around me. I was born and raised for the first ten years of my life in east texas and went through many bad storms with tornado's. But, this February, my wife and i were sitting watching tv and it started raining real hard, then went completely silent. Next thing we know, there is loud roar coming from outside. I looked at my wife and said what is that? walked to the door and opened it, i then said, "Oh shit, thats a Tornado!" I grabbed a flash light and as soon as it was in my hand, the power just went out! No warning, just gone. We ran to the basement and got underneath one of my big workbenches. Within a minute, it stopped.  In its path it started in the woods, destroyed a really nice two story house and brand new barn. Scattered the house for half a mile. It came towards my house, then hooked left and tore down trees, barns and a 100 year old home and severly damaged at least ten more.


It left a path of at least 200 feet wide and traveled on the ground for 1 1/2 miles before jumping further down the road. That is one of the scariest sounds i have ever heard in my life!!!!

[TruckDriver]

In 2003, I watch a big assed tornado following the hwy about a quarter mile out my front window at that time, and just skim a old barn. I was living in a 2 story apartment at the time. I just stood there and watched it. I am fasinated by tornados, and would LOVE to be a tornado chaser.