KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ) - It was a year ago Tuesday when 15 tornadoes touched down in Wisconsin.

They were the first of 38 in the Badger State last year – the 4th-highest in state history.

The National Weather Service had almost immediately confirmed a dozen tornadoes from April 10th of 2011, and Wisconsin Emergency Management said three more were added to the final total.

The most severe twisters that day were in Kaukauna, where 160 homes were damaged – and in Merrill, where 70 homes and 15 businesses incurred damage.

Council Grounds State Park near Merrill was closed for almost 2 weeks due to fallen trees. And it took 3 days to restore power to 6,000 Merrill area electric customers.

Still, none of last April’s tornadoes were bad enough to qualify for federal disaster aid. Tod Pritchard of Wisconsin Emergency Management said the high tornado numbers from recent years have raised the state’s average to 23 per year. It used to be 21 a decade ago.

You’ll certainly hear more about this next week – which is Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week.