1984 Barneveld–Black Earth tornado
The 1984 Barneveld Tornado was a tornado outbreak that occurred in Barneveld, Wisconsin on June 8, 1984.
The tornado began breaking out on the afternoon of June 7, across North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Three people were killed in Missouri by the tornado, and one person was killed in Iowa just after 9:00 p.m. CDT. The severe weather then shifted into Wisconsin, where a tornado watch went out at 11:00 p.m. CDT
A supercell thunderstorm, which produced the tornado in Iowa at 9:00 p.m. CT entered Wisconsin from the Iowa/Illinois border at midnight. At 12:30 a.m., the first tornado touched down in Lafayette County. At 12:41 a.m., it drove through Barneveld. A sharp bolt of lightning as well as a loud clap of thunder cut the power to the city, awakening residents. Other tornadoes broke out before dissipating after 3:00 a.m. CDT.
The tornado was rated an F5 and killed 9 people and injured 200, as well as $25 million in damage. It was the last F5 tornado to occur at night until the Birmingham, Alabama tornado in April 1998.
Damage
In the early hours of the morning in June 8, 1984, a series of tornadoes affected portions of Southern Wisconsin. Some of these tornadoes would be from strong to violent, causing significant damage. The most notable tornado was the one that struck the town of Barneveld, Wisconsin in Iowa County shortly before 1 AM. About 90 percent of the town of Barneveld was destroyed. 93 homes were destroyed, and 64 were damaged. 17 of 18 businesses and public buildings in the village were destroyed. This tornado was rated a F5 on the Fujita Scale for tornado intensity. A F5 is the highest rating that a tornado can achieve, and this particular tornado was given a F5 rating because of the severity of the damage caused to relatively new construction homes in Barneveld.[1]