A history of storms in the Medford area

At a recent school event, someone stated that there have been very few storms near Medford. Is it possible that the person made the statement based on FALSE assumptions? Over more than a century, there have been numerous severe weather events in the area that includes the high school, the elementary school, nature trails, and property that belonged to the Billings family. This document includes descriptions of just a few of them.

According to Arthur Latton’s book about the history of Taylor County, on April 19, 1876, a tornado leveled a cabin and destroyed many of the personal possessions of the John Billings family, located on their 80-acre homestead that is now between Allman Avenue and Highway 64. At that time, there were no roads, only trails used by Native Americans traveling to the Black River. It uprooted numerous large trees in the nearby woods. Fortunately, the family must have taken shelter because no one was injured. Residents of the small Medford community, including a few stores and homes, a boarding house, and workers at the sawmills collected funds to help them rebuild their home, a barn and moved to a location farther up the hill. The barn and its contents were destroyed a few years later in an electrical storm.

I remember seeing several windfalls in Billings wood. A windfall is a term used to describe a tree that has fallen and been uprooted. Some settlers used these as temporary shelters by placing boughs and branches along one side to provide a weatherproof shelter. They were used for sleeping and keeping their possessions protected until a cabin could be built. They built a fire for cooking and protection from wild animals. I also remembered hearing that a Billings cow had been killed during one of the storms. The family salvaged and preserved the meat as quickly as possible. They also buried the unusable remains in the woods.

During the 1940s, our Kuse family continued using kerosene lighting, because neither the REA nor the Medford utility had copper wire to service single farms on a country road during war time. As a result, the Kuses purchased a wind charger that generated DC current by using a generator on a 30-foot tower and storing the energy in a bank of batteries in their basement. I remember the apprehension I felt when Dad, Walter Kuse, hung from his knees to free his hands so that he could repair the vane of that wind charger after repeated storms. Unfortunately, an apparent tornado severed the heavy metal generator from the tower and deposited it 15 acres away in a pasture. End of wind charger, back to kerosene.

After the war years when wire became available, the Kuses connected to the Taylor Electric Utility, and utilized underground storm-resistant wire which ran from the road to the family home to avoid windstorm damage.

The Kuse home had heavy, two-foot mason stone walls that resisted windstorm damage. Before the use of severe weather announcements, I was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. I was awakened one night to the sound and movement of the roof above me. I was not injured, but daylight revealed that shingles and roof boards had been damaged and required extensive repairs.

A few years ago, I, VERY UNWISELY, observed the bouncing movement of a funnel cloud moving along what is now called County Road Q. Although it did not touch down, it illustrated the type of movement that had occurred during other nighttime storms.

Sometimes, lightning strikes a tall tree that remains standing for some time. That happened to a basswood in a pigpen near the family barn. Mom, Amanda Kuse had intended to feed the pig, but momentarily went back into the barn for some feed. During that time, the tree crashed over into the pigpen, slightly injuring the pig who later recovered. Thankfully Amanda did not receive any injuries.

Several years ago, when the family was preparing to celebrate with numerous invited guests, they were trying to clean their yard. An apparent tornado severed but did not uproot a honey locust tree, nearly a foot and a half in diameter, leaving a stump that has since resprouted. The storm deposited the upper part of the tree many yards away. The event prompted for interesting conversation and an excuse for a messy yard.

A year ago, a healthy white pine bordering the Kuse driveway was struck by lightning. The interior wood was turned into twisted shreds, making it unusable for lumber. The tree had to be removed.

The preceding accounts are only a few personal examples of windstorm damage. Both German and English newspaper accounts and family histories provide more evidence.

The remaining paragraphs of this article should be considered a letter to the editor.

Storms have and continue to move across Taylor County. Should I be stressed or have a frantic frenzy when I see a dark cloud in the sky? NO...... but mainly for the following reasons. I have a continuously active weather radio and follow the directions; knowing when to shelter during warnings and watches. No one should be on our or any outdoor trail during either a warning or a watch. A supply of safe bottled water should be kept on hand for use during extended power outages. A supply of ready to eat canned and boxed food needs to be available to avoid opening the refrigerator or freezer during outages and to prevent thawing. A non-electric hand operated can opener allows to access the contents of the canned containers.

Have working flashlights in different locations of the home such as basements, kitchens, and upstairs bedrooms.

Keep a pair of heavy soled shoes nearby so that one would not need to walk with bare feet on broken glass or other debris that might cause injury.

Adults need to model ways of coping with potential storms without creating stress and stress on the behalf of young children. Storms may occur months or years apart, but some have occurred within days of each other. In another community, I sheltered with a class of second graders who had experienced real tornado damage the previous night. The following day, another weather alert prompted a need to drill and shelter in a lower floor of a three-story school away from windows. There I needed to allow questions and discussions about the science of the impending weather. At the same time, I utilized music, songs, stories, memorized poetry to allay the students fears. When the janitor arrived to announce that a funnel cloud had passed over the school, there was now an all clear. The students and I could report ourselves as storm survivors.

Currently I wear a “call care” medical alert device that not only enables me to call for assistance in case of a fall but would also help me to call for help in the event of an intrusion by bears or other wild animals or human trespassing or storm events.

It is important for anyone to know the proximity of an electrical storm by counting the interval between the lightning flashes and the sounds of thunder. Persons are reminded to remain indoors for some time after the last lightning flash. It is important to never take shelter under a tall tree in the event of an electrical storm where lightning may strike the tallest objects. Many farmers use lightning rods on their tall buildings to ground the energy during electrical storms.

Students and teachers at the Medford elementary and high schools have designated shelter locations they use during while practicing weather safety. Visitors and others need to know where they should go, this is especially true for those attending sporting or culture events. Neighboring communities were able to acquire a dome shelter some years ago. It would be highly desirable that if Medford could obtain one in the future application.

I would like to extend thanks for the input and information provided by Tony Schumacher of The Great Lakes Weather Service.