Fox Cities Tornado Resource Directory

Boil water advisory — Menasha & Fox Crossing Menasha · Fox Crossing

Do not drink tap water without boiling it first. Low water pressure after the storm may have allowed contamination.

10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in Menasha & Fox Crossing Menasha · Fox Crossing

Stay off the streets overnight. Streetlights are out and downed lines, gas leaks and debris make being outside after dark genuinely dangerous.

Treat every downed wire as live All communities

Assume any fallen line is energized, even if it is not sparking, humming or moving.

Recovery & rebuilding

Official Updates & Announcements

Press releases and confirmed announcements from city, county, state and National Weather Service sources.

2 resources 2 open now

National Weather Service — Green Bay

Open

The only official source for tornado ratings, warnings and forecasts. Preliminary rating for Menasha is at least EF-2.

Website
More detail

Initial assessment showed at least EF-2 damage in Menasha — three-second gusts between 111 and 135 mph. Surveys were continuing, and officials cautioned that final ratings could take several days.

Meteorologist Kevin Scharfenberg said radar confirmed a tornado contributing to significant damage in Menasha, Grand Chute, west of downtown Appleton and down to Doty Island.

The same system produced hail over 2 inches across the region, including a report of hail more than 4 inches in Shawano County.

The NWS is the only federal agency authorized to issue official EF-Scale ratings. Treat ratings from any other source as unconfirmed.

EF Rating 3-second gust
EF-0 65–85 mph
EF-1 86–110 mph
EF-2 111–135 mph
EF-3 136–165 mph
EF-4 166–200 mph
EF-5 Over 200 mph
Checked Jul 27, 5:00 PM National Weather Service Green Bay

Official information channels

Open

Where confirmed announcements actually come from. Verify anything you see on social media against these.

Website
More detail

Misinformation moves faster than official updates after a disaster. A widely shared photograph claiming to show a funnel cloud over Appleton was flagged by storm chaser Max Archer as likely AI-generated — he noted the radar imagery was inconsistent with a tornado of that appearance.

Before sharing anything, check it against a primary source:

  • City of Menasha — official website and Facebook pages
  • Winnebago County Emergency Management — winnebagocountywi.gov
  • Outagamie County Emergency Management — outagamie.org
  • City of Neenah and Village of Fox Crossing — official channels
  • National Weather Service Green Bay — weather.gov/grb
  • Wisconsin Emergency Management — for state-level declarations
  • We Energies — for outage and restoration information

Gov. Tony Evers said the state is ready to assist affected communities and thanked responders.

Be skeptical of: dramatic images with no photographer credit, resource claims with no phone number or address, and any fundraiser created after July 27 with no verifiable connection to a named family.

Checked Jul 28, 6:50 AM Appleton Post-Crescent reporting / official agency channels

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