Governor Declares State of Emergency After Tornado Tears Through Eastern Wisconsin

Emergency crews and state agencies race to restore services after an EF-3 tornado heavily damages neighborhoods, businesses and infrastructure.

Rudy Blalock

Published: 7/29/2026, 12:54:50 AM EDT

Governor Declares State of Emergency After Tornado Tears Through Eastern Wisconsin — A home damaged by a tornado that tore through a day before in Appleton, Wis., on July 28, 2026. (Kayla Wolf/AP Photo)

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order Tuesday declaring a state of emergency across four eastern Wisconsin counties after a tornado tore through the Fox Cities region a day earlier.

The storm caused widespread destruction to homes, businesses and public infrastructure.

Executive Order No. 300 proclaims a state of emergency in Outagamie, Winnebago, Forest and Vilas counties. The order directs all state agencies to assist with response and recovery efforts and authorizes the governor to call up the Wisconsin National Guard to help with recovery, security, and other essential services.

"We are continuing to assess the devastation and destruction Wisconsin is seeing, especially in the Fox Cities, and we are committed to doing everything we can to help every family, business, and community affected recover," Evers said in a press release accompanying the order.

He added that the declaration would ensure resources are deployed quickly and thanked first responders and volunteers, saying "Together, we will recover and recover stronger".

The tornado struck near the northern end of Lake Winnebago just before 1 p.m. on Monday, cutting a roughly 12-mile path through Winnebago County—including Menasha, Appleton, Grand Chute, Fox Crossing and Doty Island—before dissipating over the lake around 1:22 p.m., according to a National Weather Service damage report.

The twister reached a maximum width of 1,500 yards, or about 0.85 miles, with winds nearing 140 mph, and the National Weather Service's Green Bay office confirmed the damage was consistent with an EF-3 rating.

"The tornado snapped and uprooted numerous trees and produced damage to several area homes and businesses along its path," the report stated, adding that "the worst damage occurred in the Fox Crossing and Menasha areas, where several businesses were heavily damaged near Highway 10 and a house destroyed in Menasha.”

As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, no injuries or deaths had been attributed to the tornado.

Local Response and Outages

Menasha Mayor Austin Hammond declared a local state of disaster effective Monday after the tornado struck around 12:20 p.m., and neighboring Neenah also declared a local emergency citing structural damage, utility outages and blocked roads.

Menasha Police Chief Matthew Albrecht said emergency crews initially struggled to reach some neighborhoods because debris blocked roads.

"At this point, we are unaware, unsure of how bad the damage is because many roads in those same areas are impassable," Albrecht said.

He urged residents to steer clear of hazards, saying, "Right now, there are many downed power lines, downed trees, and multiple hazardous situations. Please stay out".