More Severe Weather For Wisconsin, Including Tornado Near Pulaski

More than 100,000 Wisconsin residents — mostly in the Milwaukee area — remained without power Wednesday afternoon following an evening of intense thunderstorms. And the severe weather is continuing Wednesday.

Around 2:20 p.m., the National Weather Service in Green Bay confirmed a tornado near Pulaski. A tornado was also reported near Clifton, according to the National Weather Service in La Crosse.

While parts of southeast Wisconsin remain under a heat advisory, a tornado watch was issued earlier for more than a dozen Wisconsin counties, ranging all the way from Grant to Marinette. As of 4 p.m., the number was trimmed down to 17. The alert, which indicates conditions are favorable for the development of tornadoes, is set to expire at 8 p.m.

The storms can be attributed to a cold front that’s moving northeast from west-central Wisconsin, said Timm Uhlmann, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Green Bay.

“We’re expecting it to bring some damaging winds, large hail and possibly some tornadoes as well,” he said.

Uhlmann said families should plan a place to go if severe weather threatens their area.

“With the heavy rain that we’ve had the past week or so, it’s not going to take a whole lot of water to get some flooded street and roadways,” he said. “If there are some roads that are prone to flood, we don’t want you driving through those.”

In Rock County, where a heat advisory is in effect as temperatures climb into the high 80s, the sheriff’s office encouraged residents to prepare for possible power outages due to storms.

Their recommendations include packing an emergency kit, planning for any medications or medical devices that require power or refrigeration and identifying cooling stations in the area.

Teams from the American Red Cross of Wisconsin have been assisting residents across the state. Dozens of people having been displaced due to recent storms, said communications director Justin Kern.

Calls came from northeast Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Kenosha following wind damage resulting from Tuesday’s storms, he said. Over the weekend, the organization helped residents near La Crosse after the area recorded its heaviest 24-hour rainfall total since 1884.

Families should identify the safest room in their home, as well as where they’ll go if they need to leave, Kern said. The Red Cross also recommends keeping a power bank on hand, so you can charge your phone and check in with loved ones. He said residents should call 2-1-1 or 1-800-RED-CROSS if they need assistance after being displaced by storms.

It’s been a busy time with severe weather impacting areas across the state, Kern said. But the weather itself isn’t uncommon in Wisconsin during the summer, Uhlmann said.

“In fact, the rain over the weekend brought us back to near normal rainfall,” he said. “It’s the first time we’ve crested a little bit over the normal amount of rainfall for the year. We’d been under it before that.”

The state sees an average of 22 tornadoes per year, and Wisconsin is still under that number for 2021, he said.

Conditions are set to improve. Wisconsinites should see dry and sunny conditions this weekend, with cooler weather and dew points in the 50s, Uhlmann said.

Editor’s note: This story will be updated.