During the late afternoon hours of July 18, 1996, a highly destructive tornado directly struck the village of Oakfield, located in Fond Du Lac county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The tornado was part of a localized tornado outbreak, which primarily affected the lower Fox Valley region of eastern Wisconsin, and was only one of two tornadoes in the outbreak to be rated as F2 or higher on the Fujita scale. The tornado tracked for an estimated 13.3 miles (21.4 kilometers) across Fond Du Lac county, injuring 12 people and causing an estimated $40.4 million USD in damages.
The tornado touched down four miles west-northwest of Oakfield, where it caused minor damage to structures before intensifying to F3 strength as it approached Oakfield. The tornado further intensified to F4 strength as it directly struck the village. The tornado completely destroyed the Friday Canning Company before heavily damaging or destroying several homes and two churches in the village. The tornado narrowed in size as it reached F5 intensity around one to four miles east of Oakfield. The tornado swept four homes off of their foundations in this section of the tornadoes track, with automobiles being thrown up to 400 feet from their original location. The tornado then tracked northeastward, where the tornado further narrowed in size as well as weaken in intensity. The tornado then lifted around one mile northwest of Eden.
The tornado was later officially rated as F5 on the Fujita scale. As of 2026, this tornado was the last officially rated violent (F4/EF4+) tornado to strike Wisconsin, and remains the costliest tornado in state history.
Meteorological synopsis
Synoptic setup
On July 18, a developing surface-based low pressure system tracked across northern Wisconsin due to the presence of a nearby shifting weather boundary, known as a baroclinic zone. A warm front extended east across the Great Lakes, alongside a trailing cold front. These fronts displayed frontogenetic behavior, with frontogenesis at the 850 hPa level curving from the border of South Dakota and Nebraska to Wisconsin, leading to strong ascent in the warm sector of the surface low-pressure system, and becoming the primary lifting mechanism for storm development, with assistance from a trough out ahead. At 500mb, a 50-60 kt jet streak moved across central Wisconsin out of the west-northwest alongside a shortwave trough. The jet streak in combination with low-level winds moving out of the south-southwest at 10-15 kts, led to deep wind-shear of 50-65 kts where storms developed. Due to the dominant southerly wind patter, warm and moisture-laden air from the Gulf of Mexico flowed northward into the Upper Midwest. This in combination with the colder air mass aloft due to the mid-level trough, lead to surface based CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy) reaching into the 4,000 J/kg range during the afternoon hours, with the main supercell thunderstorm developing on the nose of the instability axis. Due to a high convective inhibition (CIN) value caused by the presence of an elevated mixed layer (EML) and a 550 hPa inversion, early afternoon convection became difficult.
The Storm Prediction Center issued a Moderate Risk for severe weather across the Great Lakes region during the Day 1 convective outlook, primarily centered over Wisconsin and Michigan.
Event narrative At 3:33 pm, a tornado watch was issued by the Storm Prediction Center for northeast Iowa, a small part of Minnesota, and a majority of Wisconsin. At 6:47 pm, a second tornado watch was issued to include the rest of far-eastern Wisconsin. The parent supercell thunderstorm that went on to produce the Oakfield tornado first developed in eastern Adams County. The first funnel cloud with the supercell was reported around 10 miles west of Berlin at 6:05 pm. The parent supercell produced its first tornado at 6:15 pm in St. Marie township in Green Lake County, however this tornado only produced damage to trees. The parent supercell produced hail-stones up to one inch in width near the town of Ripon in Fond Du Lac county at around 6:43 pm. Law enforcement reported the Oakfield tornado around one mile east-southeast of Lagoda, and at around 7:09 pm, the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan issued a tornado warning for Fond Du Lac county shortly after the tornado touched down.
Tornado summary
At 7:05 pm, the tornado touched down four miles west-northwest of the village of Oakfield. The tornado exhibited multiple-vortex characteristics early on in its life as it produced minor damage to homes along Dehring Road shortly after touchdown. The tornado crossed U.S. Route 151 before damaging residences and farms along Prairie Road. Around 6-8 minutes prior to the tornado entering Oakfield, tornado sirens in the village were activated. The tornado intensified to F3 strength as it approached Oakfield, with homes and outbuildings along Prairie Street to the northwest of the village sustaining significant damage.
At 7:15 pm, the tornado struck the village of Oakfield at F4 intensity, first striking the Friday Canning Company along the Wild Goose State Trail and South Elm Street. The canning company building was almost completely leveled by the tornado, with millions of empty cans from the factory being thrown up to 50 miles away by the tornado. The tornado began to track eastward along Filbey Street, where it devastated several homes, often only leaving behind piles of debris. The Oakfield Middle School had its roof structure peeled off, with the interior of the school sustaining significant damage, and the recently remodeled Methodist Church was completely destroyed. Trees along Filbey street were ripped out of the ground, many of which had their trunks and large branches thrown through the windows and doors of nearby structures. Structures and trees on Main Street, Gilson Avenue, and 2nd Street sustained a similar degree of damage, with houses being reduced to rubble, a gas station being completely destroyed, tree trunks being snapped, and vehicles being crushed and overturned. St. Luke's Lutheran Church on 2nd Street was completely destroyed, with the only section left standing being the hallway to the restrooms, alongside a portrait of Jesus. 10 elderly people were in the church basement at the time; none were injured. Residents in Oakfield reported difficulty popping ears as the tornado tracked through the village. A dog named Muffet was killed in the village when a basement wall collapsed onto them. After the tornado left Oakfield, it intensified further to F5 strength as it struck homes along River Road. Five homes were severely damaged, and two were completely destroyed. One home along River Road was completely swept off its foundation, with anchor bolts bent. Two vehicles in the area were heavily damaged and were thrown a distance of . The core width of the tornado was estimated to be in diameter, with secondary damage extending to 400 yards. The tornado carved through groves of trees before completely sweeping a home along Church Road. The tornado then damaged or destroyed two homes north of Church Road and east of Hickory Road; in one home, parts of a fireplace collapsed into the basement, injuring one of the occupants. The home adjacent to this was totaled. The tornado continued to track eastward, carving a path through groves of trees before completely destroying Tom Kelroy's home off of Highway 175 and tossing a vehicle across the highway. As the tornado approached Interstate 41, it began to leave burn marks in corn fields, in addition to reducing corn crops down to stubbles in height. The tornado began to take a northeastward turn as it weakened and shrunk in size rapidly, damaging a farm home along Kelly Road. The tornado remained over rural farmland for the rest of its life before lifting around northwest of Eden at 7:35 pm.
Impact and aftermath
In total, the Oakfield tornado completely destroyed 60 homes, six businesses, 18 barns, and multiple sheds, alongside an additional 130 homes and businesses. Around 500 acres of crops were completely wiped out, resulting in the total damages from the tornado reaching $40.4 million USD. This made the Oakfield tornado the costliest in Wisconsin state history, surpassing the previous record set by the Barneveld tornado of 1984. Debris from Oakfield was found to the east along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, and cancelled checks were found as far away as Muskegon, Michigan, around 125 miles east-southeast of Oakfield. The tornado was initially rated as F3, before later being upgraded to F5 on the Fujita scale, with estimated winds up to . As of 2026, the Oakfield tornado remains the most recent violent (F4/EF4+) tornado to impact the state of Wisconsin. 12 people were injured by the tornado, and one dog was killed. Eight of the 12 people who were injured were taken to Waupun Memorial Hospital, with the hospital issuing an external disaster alert at 7:20 pm, which remained in effect until 11:15 pm. The most common injury among patients was fractures and lacerations. Four of the eight admitted to hospital were released on July 19.
After the tornado, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson declared a state of emergency, resulting in the National Guard being deployed to aid victims and clear debris. Governor Thompson also requested president Bill Clinton to declare Fond du Lac and Green counties federal disaster areas to allow victims of both the tornadoes and floods to be eligible for federal assistance, and on August 2, a disaster declaration was issued by President Clinton. On August 30, FEMA approved $1.4 million USD in aid to state and local governments to repair roads, bridges, and other public buildings in Oakfield and Green County, however assistance for individual victims was denied, stating that there wasn't enough damage to homes and businesses in the two counties that weren't covered by insurance to be eligible for federal help. In a letter to Governor Thompson from William C. Tidball, it was stated that only one tornado-damaged home was uninsured, with only six more being underinsured by 15% or greater.
The Salvation Army and Fond du Lac County Red Cross set up an emergency shelter at the Oakfield High School before launching a disaster fund campaign called "Help Can't Wait", with the goal for relief being $150,000 USD. Donations quickly allowed the Red Cross to provide more than 6,300 meals to tornado victims and emergency workers by July 23, with Mercury Marine donating $25,000 dollars. The Salvation Army was reportedly overwhelmed by the number of donations of non-perishable foods, clothing, and furniture, and on July 24, the organization asked people to stop sending donations of these items temporarily, instead requesting provisions of cleaning supplies and personal care products. Fond du Lac's Church of Christ handed out free food and beverages to volunteers and victims. The Bank of Oakfield designated an estimated $1 million USD in loans for victims, and the Brownsville-Lomira small animal clinic donated pet food to victims. The Oakfield Area Tree Council was formed shortly after the tornado by residents to repair ecological damage in the village. Between various donations and fundraisers, a total of $102,000 USD was raised, and over 1,400 trees were planted.
The 25th anniversary of the tornado was observed on July 18, 2021, with a series of commemorative events being held, including a parade, barbecue, outdoor church service, village-wide open houses, and the Oakfield Public Library's story walk, which featured both displays of photographs and first-hand accounts of the tornado in Acorn Park.
Non-tornadic effects and other tornadoes