While Waukesha didn't see the storm damage that those in Lake Geneva experienced on Tuesday night, a tornado has been confirmed for the southwest corner of the city.
As a result, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), three tornadoes in southeast Wisconsin have been confirmed from Aug. 18.
The NWS said EF-1 tornadoes (winds estimated up to 110 mph) were confirmed in Lake Geneva and two miles southwest of Big Bend (near County Road L and Maple Avenue).
On Thursday, Aug. 20, the NWS said an EF-0 tornado (winds estimated up to 80 mph, but the weakest on the 0-5 scale) hit the southwest area of Waukesha (near the intersection of Genesee Road and Highway 59) on Aug. 18.
According to the NWS, the Lake Geneva tornado was about five miles long and up to a quarter mile wide. It occurred around 9 p.m. and lasted about five minutes.
The NWS said the Big Bend tornado occurred around 9:30 pm and was about 1 mile long. The Waukesha tornado occurred around 9:48 p.m. and was less than one mile long.
No injuries have been reported from the storms, according to the NWS.
According to the Wisconsin Emergency Operations Center, the storm caused two trees to go down in the area of Oakdale Drive and School Drive in Waukesha, just east of where the tornado hit. According to the police blotter, a large tree was blocking half the road in this area and the city's forestry department had to be called just before midnight Aug. 18.
As a line of thunderstorms moved across southern Wisconsin during the afternoon of Aug. 18 and evening, a tornado watch was issued as the environment was conducive to tornado development, the NWS indicated. The NWS said it was monitoring a rotation with a thunderstorm near the Lake Geneva area and issued a severe thunderstorm warning for eastern Walworth County.
While the rotation dissipated, another storm cell then showed some rotation, prompting the NWS to issue a tornado warning for southeast Waukesha County. This was the second tornado. Radar showed the rotation moving north of Big Bend but little to no damage was found north of Big Bend.