Upper Midwest
A few cities include: Eau Claire, Madison and Oshkosh.
Local tornado season: Peaks between June and July.
Terrain: A mix of hills, forests, valleys and a few prairies.
Road network: Irregular, but manageable in spots.
Radar coverage: Generally good in most areas.
The Upper Midwest from east-central Minnesota into interior Wisconsin, similarly to southern Minnesota, falls along the northern edge of tornado alley. Most summers will produce a few tornado events in this part of the Upper Midwest. Large hail will sometimes occur, but damaging winds will be a bit more common, especially if storms merge or grow upscale as they evolve.
Terrain
The terrain in this portion of the Upper Midwest is transitioning from rolling plains toward increasingly dense forests. The Mississippi River is the approximate western edge of this storm chase area. Some forested hills, sometimes referred to as the Western Upland, parallel just to the northeast of the Mississippi River.
The remainder of the area is mixed with hills and plains. Forested areas are scattered across most of the landscape, especially near the Mississippi River and in central Wisconsin. Rivers, lakes and streams are also common across the Upper Midwest. The terrain alone can make viewing or chasing storms challenging here.
Road network
Most roads in this region are curvy with patterns that may not be the most favorable for storm chasing. Even through parts of central to west-central Wisconsin have a partially gridded road network; forested areas tend to offset that bright spot. Likewise, the road network north of Minneapolis in east-central Minnesota forms a partial grid, but trees are an obstacle that will come into play if storm chasing here as well.
Several freeways and U.S. highways pass through the Upper Midwest. One area that may be somewhat more favored for storm chasing is near and north of I-94 in west-central Wisconsin. Here, the terrain and road networks are manageable in spots. South-central Wisconsin is more densely populated, but also has some real estate that is somewhat favorable for storm chasing.
Radar coverage
The three radar sites in Wisconsin, KARX, KMKX and KGRB cover most of central and southern Wisconsin. KMPX lends coverage into west-central Wisconsin, although radar coverage is more limited between about Eau Claire and Wausau. There will probably not be much storm chasing in this region of limited radar coverage, as the terrain starts to become thickly forested as one moves north.
In summary, this part of the Upper Midwest is somewhat favorable for storm chasing, but there are several limiting factors. The road network is inconsistent and a combination of hills, forests and bodies of water can make it difficult to navigate the landscape while pursuing storms.
Notes
Geographically, portions of Iowa and other parts of Minnesota are generally lumped into the Upper Midwest. For this guide, the Upper Midwest has been narrowed in a hilly, forested, wetland area between Minneapolis and Milwaukee. In this guide, if the Upper Midwest interests you, consider referring to the Central/Northern Iowa and Southern/Western Minnesota chase zones.