Storms Rip Through State, Many Without Power Yet

Extremely hot temperatures across Wisconsin created the perfect landscape for a storm-riddled Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Tornadoes reportedly touched down Wednesday afternoon as a strong line of thunderstorms traveled across the state. The National Weather Service said touchdowns were reported near Tomah and Mauston, with the first tornado reported shortly after 4:00 p.m.

KFIZ’s Breaking News Editor, Doug Raflik, spent most of the day on the road tracking the storms, and was on the phone, on air, while the skies darkened around 6:30 p.m., and the winds picked up. Raflik said he saw minor damage from the storm, but for the most part, Fond du Lac County escaped the bulk of the storm. Tornado sirens sounded in the county about 6:15 p.m., with conditions being prime for tornado activity, but no actual tornadoes were reported.

As of Thursday morning, just over 93,000 customers were without power across the state. That included nearly 40,000 WPS customers, over 12,000 Alliant Energy customers, and almost 41,000 WE Energies customers.