The 1958 Colfax Tornado (Images of America)

By: Troy Knutson and Michelle Knutson

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Synopsis: June 4, 1958, was a muggy and breezy day in western Wisconsin. Across central Minnesota, severe weather was brewing. In the early afternoon, the Minnesota storms crossed the border into Wisconsin. As farmers were tending to milking chores and families were wrapping up the workday and sitting down to supper, one of the worst tornadoes in Wisconsin's history touched down. At 7:07 p.m., what had been multiple, smaller tornadoes combined into one massive F5 tornado that ripped through the village of Colfax, leaving a path of death and destruction that would require months of recovery. In Colfax, 12 people were killed, hundreds were injured, and millions of dollars in damage was done to property. However, in the wake of the storm, a community and its neighbors came together as one to care for the survivors and begin the process of healing and rebuilding.