Check out the above video from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. A tightly wound area of low pressure, remnant from the activity seen in southern California earlier in the week, swept through the Western Great Lakes yesterday, feasting on very warm temperatures to trigger severe storms from Dubuque, Iowa to Lake Michigan.

The tornado did cause some damage in the Wisconsin town of Evansville, which is south of Madison. The twister will likely be rated as an EF2, based on some estimates I’ve seen, which is quite strong for an offseason storm. The damage around Evansville was enough that US-14 was closed until midday today.

The system also provided very gusty wind in the wake of it’s passage, reminiscent of some early autumn systems in this part of the country. Snow is falling in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan today thanks to the cold air funneled in. The intensity of this clash of air masses is atypical in what should be the dead of winter, and was clearly enough to produce this tornado.