MENASHA (WLUK) — People within the Fox Valley are waking for a day of storm clear up.
A tornado tore through areas of Appleton, Neenah and Menasha Monday morning, abandoning destroyed houses and companies, energy traces down and snapped bushes.
The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado that struck Menasha was an EF-3 Tuesday morning.
The tornado was 1,500 yards extensive and traveled 12.1 miles with 140 mph wind speeds.
The path of a EF-3 tornado that handed by Appleton, Menasha and Neenah on July 27, 2026. (WLUK Weather)
Local authorities are on the bottom Tuesday, assessing the damage.
Fox Valley residents start cleanup as Menasha streets blocked by downed energy traces, July 28, 2026. (WLUK)
FOX 11’s Emily Beier was in Menasha the place some streets are impassable because of downed energy traces.
Residents shocked by the extent of the injury. “It took an hour and 40 minutes to go 6 miles,” Menasha resident Mickey Mueller mentioned. “People were patient for the most part, but you get home and you don’t expect that you’re just gonna see carnage.”
“Yeah, so I mean it was crazy. It started getting really really dark,” mentioned Taylor Folske, Menasha. “We went to the back window and it was just moving, clouds were moving this way and then this way and then there was a whole like light blue shelf coming through. Then the sirens went off.”
“All of a sudden we heard a loud whistling, I looked out the window and the trees were just going everywhere and the wind was really bad and the water was hitting our window real loud,” mentioned Ellen McCoy, Menasha.
Mueller mentioned she had by no means seen injury like what the EF-3 tornado induced. She questioned how these within the metropolis would transfer ahead amid a lot devastation.
“Someone told me last night, eight weeks when I said three weeks, I think how do we do this? I mean, how do we do this?,” Mueller mentioned. “You can’t leave everything and go to work. You can’t not work, you can’t work from home.” Mueller expects the state of affairs to be robust for everybody in Menasha.
For closely broken areas, folks ought to:
- Stay away from affected areas except mandatory.
- Avoid downed energy traces and deal with all utility traces as energized.
- Do not drive round barricades or enter areas closed by emergency personnel.
- Limit non-emergency journey to permit first responders and utility crews entry to impacted areas.
- Call 911 for emergencies. Non-emergency points must be reported by the suitable non-emergency channels.
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There can also be a curfew in place for Menasha till additional discover. The curfew is in place from 10 p.m. to five a.m., and applies to any particular person on foot, bicycle or any kind of auto on any public avenue, avenue, freeway, street, alley, park, faculty grounds, swimming seaside, cemetery, playground, public constructing or another public place. The curfew doesn’t apply to any particular person whose employment makes it essential to be upon the streets, alleys or public locations or in any motorcar throughout such hours.
Fox Valley residents start cleanup as Menasha streets blocked by downed energy traces, July 28, 2026. (WLUK)
Thousands of consumers within the Fox Valley are with out energy Tuesday.
Matt Cullen says crews are making progress for Wisconsin Public Service prospects. Since the beginning of the storms, crews have restored energy to greater than 19,000 prospects, whereas We Energies has restored energy to greater than 79,000 prospects throughout the state.
Matt Cullen of Wisconsin Public Service talks in regards to the progress crews are making in restoring energy, July 28, 2026. (WLUK)
Cullen provides there’s in depth injury to energy traces and poles so it’ll take a while to utterly restore energy to all.
There are presently three emergency shelters open for residents affected by the storms:
- Christ the Rock Church at W6254 US Highway 10/114 in Menasha; it’s open for in a single day sheltering.
- The Elks Lodge at 328 Nicolet Blvd in Menasha
- Calvary Bible Church on Oakridge Road in Neenah
Fox Valley residents start cleanup as Menasha streets blocked by downed energy traces, July 28, 2026. (WLUK)
As of seven:30 p.m. Monday, Winnebago County officers mentioned there have been no reported fatalities from the storms.
In Outagamie County, government Tom Nelson says a small a part of Appleton is just not accessible at the moment. That space can be round Prospect Avenue, the southwestern a part of the town close to Xavier High School.
Outagamie County government talks about how storm cleanup goes in Appleton which was hit by a tornado, July 28, 2026. (WLUK)
He says if residents need assistance, to dial 211 for non-emergencies.
Fox Valley residents start cleanup as Menasha streets blocked by downed energy traces, July 28, 2026. (WLUK)
Winnebago County government Gordon Hintz mentioned seeing the photographs and movies from the devastation was fairly robust and it’ll take a while to get better.
“Menasha is a well-established community. There are people who have owned those homes for years and when you just look at the houses, the trees, the infrastructure, it just looks like a bulldozer came through and knocked it over and so I think we have some long days ahead of us but we’re going to make it through this.”
Winnebago County government Gordon Hinz talks in regards to the aftermath of a tornado that ripped by the county Monday, July 28, 2026. (WLUK)
He provides county departments are working collectively to share how these locally can greatest assist these affected by the storms.
Volunteer Fox Cities has created a sign-up page for neighborhood members excited by serving to with storm response and restoration efforts.
At this time, volunteers are being positioned on standby whereas response wants are recognized.
Anyone with a meals truck, ready meals, or consuming water who wish to help the response ought to report back to the north car parking zone of the previous UW–Oshkosh Fox Cities campus.
All bottled water, emergency provides, and different donations must be dropped off on the campus entrance subsequent to the Barlow Planetarium.
The location is predicted to open at midday Tuesday. Portable restrooms and handwashing stations are being arrange on the web site.
To get there, use the Highway 441 Oneida Street exit, then: Travel south on Oneida Street, Turn west onto Midway Road, Enter the campus donation space, Return east on Midway Road and journey north on Oneida Street to return to Highway 441
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This story has been up to date to appropriate the estimated wind velocity of the tornado.
