A tornado that touched down Tuesday night in western Wisconsin, injuring two people, damaging homes and felling power lines and trees, was an EF3, with winds of up to 150 miles per hour, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.

The twister struck the towns of Elk Mound and Wheaton about 7:50 p.m. Tuesday, NWS meteorologist Caleb Grunzke said.

It caused "extensive damage to structures" in the western part of Wheaton, according to Chippewa County Sheriff's Office Emergency Communications Center Director Chris Cord.

A mobile home overturned and a person inside was taken to a hospital with injuries, one of two people who suffered noncritical injuries, authorities said. Homes on 26th Street south of Hwy. 29 had significant damage. Storage buildings and barns were damaged or destroyed, and trees continued to block several roads Wednesday morning while some residents were still without power, Cord said.

NWS teams visited the area Wednesday to survey the damage and determine the strength of the twisters before releasing the conclusion that the twister was an EF3. The tornado's path was 5.5 miles long, with a maximum width of a third of a mile, the NWS said.

The Enhanced Fujita scale classifies tornadoes as follows: EF5 is the strongest and considered "violent," with winds 200 mph or more; EF4 twisters are also considered "violent," with winds upward of 166 mph. EF3s like Tuesday's twister are "strong," with winds of 136 to 165 mph. EF2s are also "strong," with winds of 111 to 135 mph. EF1s have winds of 86 to 110 mph, while EF0s feature winds of 65 to 85 mph.

The violent weather also moved across southeastern Minnesota, where high winds and heavy rains ripped off the roof of a barn in Marion, just southeast of Rochester.

Zumbro Falls saw wind gusts of 80 mph, and people reported downed trees and power lines in Winona, Goodhue and Minnesota City, the National Weather Service said.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768