Strong storms with high winds move across central and southeastern Wisconsin, leaving tree damage, power outages
A cluster of strong thunderstorms have made their way across central and into southeastern Wisconsin Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds were strong enough to uproot trees or break branches, blow in or break windows, and even damage some buildings.
"They're packing a punch with the wind and then some small hail as well," said Jaclyn Anderson, meteorologist for the NWS in Sullivan.
The weather service has received reports of over 60 mph winds, she said. There also have been quite a few reports of tree damage and small hail.
Shortly before 6 p.m., the storms made their way through Sheboygan and Washington counties, and into Jefferson County. They began to hit Milwaukee and into its southern suburbs before 7 p.m.
"I would anticipate a pretty good uptick in winds, upwards of 50 miles an hour — maybe a little bit stronger in a few different pockets of this storm — as it moves through this evening," she said.
Thousands hit with power outages
As of about 7:40 p.m., 24,226 Wisconsin We Energies' customers were out of service, according to the company's outage map.
That number included 9,109 customers out of service in Milwaukee County; 4,880 in Waukesha County; 2,773 in Ozaukee County; 1,533 in Washington County; 1,514 in Dodge County; and 1,320 in Kenosha; among others.
How to protect yourself
Here's how Anderson recommended protecting yourself from the storms:
Seek shelter inside. If you hear thunder, you're at risk of being struck by lightning, she noted.
If you for sure have time, move inside any outdoor objects that could easily blow away or do damage.
Severe thunderstorm warning
The NWS issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Milwaukee, northern Walworth, Racine, Waukesha and southeastern Jefferson counties until 6:45 p.m.
Shortly before 6:20 p.m., severe thunderstorms were located along a line, extending from near Whitefish Bay to near Waukesha to near Palmyra, moving southeast at 60 mph, according to the warning.
People attending Harvest Fest at State Fair were told to seek safe shelter immediately.
About 6:30 p.m., severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from 11 miles east of St. Francis to near Franklin to near East Troy, moving southeast at 65 mph, according to a severe weather statement from the NWS.
Then, around 6:50 p.m., severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Wind Point to near Pell Lake, moving southeast at 40 mph.
Finally, a severe thunderstorm warning ended at 7:15 p.m. for southeastern Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties.
Trained weather spotters reported trees down across Jefferson and Waukesha counties, the warning said. There have also been public reports of trees down in northeastern Walworth County.
Contact Hannah Kirby at hannah.kirby@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HannahHopeKirby.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Strong storms knock out power, damage trees across Milwaukee area
