the wisconsin tornado outbreak of 2005 was an outbreak of tornadoes that occurred primarily in southern wisconsin on august 18, 2005. a system of storms unleashed a total of 28 tornadoes, 27 of which were confirmed in southern wisconsin, and 1 confirmed in minnesota. this outbreak set a new record for the most tornadoes observed in the state in a single day, breaking the previous record of 24 tornadoes set on may 8, 1988. the system generating the stoughton tornado was also accompanied by many reports of severe winds and hail throughout the region. the stoughton tornado was documented on an episode of the weather channel's "storm stories".