Shawano County spent a tense hour under the threat of multiple tornado warnings Monday evening, with at least two confirmed tornado spottings as the storm rumbled northeast toward Oconto County.
Despite heavy downpours, and scattered reports of power outages, no damage was reported by the time the warnings expired around 6 p.m.
Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl said one tree and some wires were down in the city. The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department had no reports of other damage as of 6 p.m.
“We got lucky,” said Natalie Easterday, emergency management director for Shawano County.
A tornado was first confirmed on the ground around 5 p.m. in Embarrass and a short time later in the area of Pella and Marion, according to the National Weather Service.
Sirens blared across Shawano County moments later as the storm made a bead on a swath of the county from southern Shawano down to Bonduel.
Circulation was reported southeast of Shawano near Belle Plaine at 5:17 p.m. and another tornado spotting was reported in the southeast portion of the city near County Road B around 5:30 p.m., setting off another round of sirens.
Easterday said the storm provided another good reminder for residents to get an emergency weather radio to keep on alerts, given that the sirens best serve only those that are outdoors.
