Wisconsin Tornado Causes Extensive Damage And Cuts Power To Thousands Of Homes

A tornado swept done Wisconsin connected Monday, splintering homes, downing trees and knocking retired powerfulness to thousands of people.

The National Weather Service, utilizing radar, confirmed a tornado successful Winnebago County, astir 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.

Video showed chunks of twisted metallic and pieces of wood scattered crossed 1 road arsenic cars maneuvered astir nan debris. A storage appeared to beryllium heavy damaged.

Greg Van Driest was moving successful downtown Appleton erstwhile nan entity sewage arsenic acheronian arsenic night.

“The connection we each were utilizing was ‘ominous,’” he said. “It’s like, ‘Whoa, look astatine that.’ ... You looked extracurricular and you thought it was 3 successful nan morning, it was that dark.”

National Weather Service meteorologist Holley Kamba said nan agency was receiving reports of a assortment of harm successful confederate Outagamie County and eastbound Winnebago County,

“We person been receiving calls of harm pinch a batch of trees down, powerfulness lines down,” Kamba said. “We’ve been searching for immoderate pictures of nan structural damage.”

So far, location person been nary reports of injuries, she said.

The twister was moving complete Lake Winnebago and moving southward toward Fond du Lac County astir 12:25 p.m., nan National Weather Service said.

The agency had issued a informing for a “destructive, severe” thunderstorm successful nan area wherever nan tornado hit, Kamba said.

Images posted to societal media showed extended harm successful Appleton, including homes stripped of roofs and siding, cars flipped complete and streets littered pinch character limbs.

The Appleton Police Department said connected societal media that it was alert of “several downed trees and ample character limbs passim nan city." Some postulation signals were out, and immoderate roads were “heavily backed up,” nan section said.

Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson said he did not yet person immoderate confirmation of fatalities aliases injuries successful nan county, which includes Appleton. But he said location was “extensive and terrible damage” successful Menasha and Fox Crossing pinch reports of collapsed buildings.

“All indications are that this was a devastating strategy that has caused extended damage,” Nelson said.

Nelson said it was not safe to recreation successful nan area pinch reports of damage, powerfulness lines down and roadworthy closures.

“Stay put if possible,” he said. “Check connected loved ones and neighbors.”

In Menasha, nan electrical inferior said nan full metropolis of astir 18,000 group is believed to beryllium without powerfulness because of a downed transmission line. Authorities were opening a shelter astatine a religion location for group seeking impermanent information aliases can’t stay successful their homes.

“We are alert of terrible harm successful wide areas," nan Menasha Police Department said successful a Facebook post. "We are asking nan nationalist to enactment indoors, watch retired for downed powerfulness lines, do not thrust astir roadworthy closures, and do not thrust astir nan area unless perfectly necessary.”

The National Weather Service said terrible upwind is forecast to proceed successful eastbound cardinal and southeastern Wisconsin done Monday afternoon. Storms are expected to bring winds exceeding 60 mph (97 kph), on pinch hail and nan anticipation of an isolated, little tornado, nan National Weather Service said.

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Mayes-Osterman reported from Chicago. John Seewer successful Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.