Thousands left without power after storms

Tornado watch in place until 3 a.m.

Capital Times staff  —  6/10/2008 2:40 pm

The aftermath of a tornado-producing storm system kept utility crews busy Saturday as thousands of customers waited for their power to be restored.

About 5,000 customers in the Wisconsin Dells area were without power Saturday afternoon, and crews were clearing downed trees and repairing damaged power lines, said Alliant Energy spokesman Steve Schultz.

Another 1,600 customers in the Randolph, Cambria area northeast of Madison also lost service due to weather.

Power also was knocked out for about 1,500 Alliant customers south of Madison in Brooklyn and Oregon.

"We've got a lot of crews out there so we should be getting everything taken care," Schultz said.

At least four tornadoes were reported during this afternoon's storms in or near Dane County.

Tornado warnings expired throughout the area at 5:30 p.m., but tornado watches remained in effect for Dane and surrouding counties until 3 a.m. Sunday.

Weather Central meteorologist James Conrad said the weather service had confirmed two tornadoes in the area: one three miles east of Cottage Grove and one in Sauk County, two miles southwest of Plain.

A report of a tornado near Fort Atkinson in Jefferson County hasn't been confirmed, but hasn't been counted out.

Unconfirmed tornadoes also were reported near Woodman in Grant County, west of Boscobel, and near Beaver Dam.

Sgt. Tim Elve of the Dane County Sheriff's Department said the tornado near Cottage Grove touched down near County BB and Baxter Road in the town of Cottage Grove. he said the tornado landed on a field and caused little damage.

Conrad said Saturday evening that a large line of thunderstorms was forming in Green Lake, Marquette, Dodge and Columbia counties and were expected to reach the Madison area overnight. Those storms were expected to produce heavy rain and could potentially cause damaging winds.

"Any of these storms could produce a tornado," he said.

More thunderstorms were expected throughout the day on Sunday.

Flash flooding was also reported.

Dane County had partially activated its Emergency Operations Center in response to Saturday's storms. The center was being staffed by the County Executive Kathleen Falk, Sheriff David Mahoney, and Emergency Management personnel.

The storms did not hit Madison hard. Police reported a few minor calls for downed trees and some storm sewers that were backed up with rain water.

"We've been mainly assisting on weather-related stuff, some low hanging trees, things like that," said Madison police Lt. Jerry Tomczak.

In Columbia County, at least five people were injured because of Saturday's storms.

Lori Getter, Wisconsin Emergency Management spokeswoman, said the confirmed injuries were minor.

Four were hurt after a house had its windows blown out near the Village of Randolph.

"They were definitely right in the path of whatever came through," said Kathy Johnson, spokeswoman for emergency management in Columbia County.

Authorities said a camper was also injured in Rio.

"We're still trying to assess the damage," Johnson said.

Getter said numerous counties were reporting damage to roofs and farm buildings across central and southeastern Wisconsin. Getter said flash flooding was also a concern.

The storms also forced the suspension of the WIAA state girl's softball and soccer tournaments.

The approaching storm system prompted Dane County Emergency Management to sound weather alarms at 3 p.m.

The alarms were in response to radar showing the formation of rotating wall clouds, which have the potential to form tornadoes.

A tornado watch means conditions are right for storms to develop that could include a tornado; a tornado warning means a tornado has been spotted.

Shortly before 1 p.m., the National Weather Service Doppler radar showed strong or severe thunderstorms developing along a line from just west of Wisconsin Rapids to Camp Douglas to Prairie du Chien. As the storms pushed eastward they encountered a very favorable atmosphere for severe thunderstorms which will continue through the evening in our area, the report said.

Less severe storms and showers are likely to continue after midnight tonight into Sunday, which is forecast to be cloudy and rainy, but with a reduced risk of damaging storms.

A flash flood watch has been issued for portions of south central and southeast Wisconsin, including Dane County, beginning at 7 p.m. and continuing through 7 p.m. Sunday.

A National Weather Service report issued this afternoon said that a prolonged period of potentially strong storms with heavy rainfall over about the next 30 hours could cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly because ground is already saturated from previous rain.

Urban areas could be affected as well, with the potential for torrential rainfall as strong developing thunderstorms interact with a moist and unstable air mass over southern Wisconsin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Capital Times staff  —  6/10/2008 2:40 pm