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Tornado touchdown confirmed in Crawford County

The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado hit Crawford County Monday afternoon, traveling about four miles with winds between 86 and 110 mph.

The twister touched down at 5:16 p.m. about a mile east of Fairview and traveled about four miles to the northeast, said Jeff Boyne, National Weather Service meteorologist. The storm briefly reached F-1 strength but was rated F-0 through most of its 10-minute duration. It was the first tornado to hit Crawford County in 22 years -- "a very long time without a tornado," Boyne said.

Preliminary reports of damage include a couple of old barns down and some trees toppled, according to the state’s Emergency Operations Center. Weather Service crews are on the ground today evaluating damage.

High winds, heavy rain and hail were reported across the Coulee region Monday.

Winds recorded at 35 to 45 mph dropped trees and power lines along roadways in Jackson and Monroe counties and stripped roof sections off several mobile homes east of Sparta, the weather service reported.

The storms also doused parts of both counties with more than an inch of rain and pummeled some areas with hail of up to an inch in diameter.

The last tornado to touch down in Crawford County was an F-0 twister that downed trees on June 17, 1987, according to weather service records.