On June 8, 1984, an F5 tornado hit and erased Barneveld from the map

Gale Manteufel crawled through the wreckage of his Barneveld home searching for possessions to salvage in June 1984.

Barneveld was the first F5 tornado in Wisconsin since the Colfax tornado in 1958. The long hard job of cleaning up after the tornado in Colfax included moving dead animals, like this calf, from the wreckage of a barn on the James Schindler farm.

The Colfax tornado killed 21 people. An automobile lay propped up against a tree and the wrecked roof of a building.

The 1984 Barneveld tornado was the first F5 in the U.S. in more than two years since one touched down in Oklahoma on April 2, 1982. Hazel and Clinton Roberts survey the debris of his mother's house in Barneveld, wondering where to start the cleanup.

The next F5 tornado wouldn’t occur in Wisconsin until Oakfield on July 18, 1996. A view of the Oakfield tornado destruction in 1996. Sixty-six buildings were destroyed and 130 others were damaged. It caused $39.5 million in damages.

Oakfield is currently the last F5 tornado to hit Wisconsin. Jeff Smith hugs his daughter Katie Weiting, as mother Ann Smith calls family to let them know they are OK after the Oakfield tornado destroyed their home.

June is the peak month for tornadoes in Wisconsin. This photo shows the destruction after one particularly devastating June tornado.

On June 12, 1899, the worst tornado in state history occurred in New Richmond, killing 117 people and leveling the town.

A circus, which attracted 1,000 people to the community, was finishing a performance when the tornado struck. A dead horse lies near the bell to the United Methodist Church after the tornado passed. The bell is now part of the rebuilt church located on the same site as the original.

The recipe for tornadoes always includes heat, humidity and wind shear. This 1899 photo shows the home belonging to the parson of the New Richmond Methodist Church with a side sheared off.

Wisconsin can get extreme heat and humidity plus the right wind profile, but not as often as the central Plains states that comprise Tornado Alley. Five Barneveld Fire Department trucks were heavily damaged when the F5 tornado caused the building collapsed on them.

Twisted street signs were all that were left on many streets in Barneveld.

Devastation in Barneveld, Wisconsin, after a tornado.

A majority of tornadoes occur between 3 and 9 p.m. and violent tornadoes almost never happen late at night. People salvage some items from their destroyed house in Barneveld.

Many tornadoes show a telltale “hook” shape on radar, but Barneveld’s tornado did not. Among the scenes of destruction at Barneveld was a car tossed on a pile of debris that included other buried vehicles.

The home of Ted Arneson, 62, president of Barneveld Bank, was almost destroyed.

Meteorologists then, as today, relied on eyewitness reports. Local residents survey piles of rubble in Barneveld.

Tom Mauger sits on a pile of debris that was once a home. In the background, other homes were untouched by the tornado that hit Barneveld.

After the second report of wind damage, a tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service in Madison at 11 p.m. The destruction along this Barneveld street left nothing untouched.

Residents of Barneveld comforted each other after a tornado killed nine people and destroyed many homes. Hazel Friedl, who was out of town when the tornado struck, hugged a neighbor when she returned. 

Barneveld after a tornado erased the village in June 1984.

Scene in Barneveld, Wisconsin, after the June 1984 tornado.

The Barneveld water tower was left standing after a tornado caused extensive damage.

A stained glass window was blown out of the Congregational Church of Christ in Barneveld.

Also lost were the library, fire station, bank, post office and municipal building. All that remained of Barneveld Lutheran Church after a tornado practically leveled the small community was its bell tower.

Relief and rescue operations in Barneveld, Wisconsin

The American Red Cross was on the scene helping the people of Barneveld.

Jill M. and Bruce M. Simon and their daughter, Cassandra 8, were killed in the Barneveld tornado. The Simons' son, Trevor, who was nearly 2 years old, survived but was severely injured.

People visit their destroyed home after a tornado hit Barneveld in June 1984.

Aerial view of a destroyed establishment in Barneveld.

Dale Buskee takes guns from his demolished house in Barneveld.

Devastation in Barneveld after the tornado.

Gov. Tony Earl inspects damage at Barneveld.

Cars lie in piles like discarded toys after the Barneveld tornado.

Barneveld after a tornado erased the village in June 1984.

A farmer's barn, just outside of  Barneveld, was ripped apart by the tornado in June 1984.

Barneveld after a tornado erased the village in June 1984.

Curtains and drapes blew from this older house that lost all the glass in its windows and a portion of the second floor.

People help clear debris in Barneveld.

Most of the village's major buildings and homes were destroyed.

A front end loader began cleanup operations in the Barneveld business district after a tornado killed at least nine people.

Julie Belotti of Chicago carried her daughter, Rachel, on her back as she helped salvage items from her uncle's home in Barneveld after the June 8, 1984, tornado.

Devastation in Barneveld after the tornado.

Workers tossed debris from the site of the Barneveld Lutheran Church as recovery efforts continued after a tornado demolished the Iowa County community. President Ronald Reagan declared tornado-stricken Iowa and Dane counties disaster areas.

Workers take a break while clearing debris in Barneveld.

Barneveld after a tornado erased the village in June 1984.