Severe weather spawns tornadoes; Power outages reported throughout Wisconsin

By Shereen Siewert

Severe weather Tuesday in Wisconsin left thousands of people without power and spawned at least two tornadoes, weather officials said.

Tornadoes touched down in Eau Claire and in Chippewa County. Nearly 3,000 people were without power after storms rolled through the area, but only about 200 remained without power as of 6:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Western Wisconsin was hit particularly hard.

Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk told WEAU-TV that no one he knew of was unaccounted for after Tuesday night’s storms, with only a few people having suffered minor injuries.

Emergency managers have asked potential volunteers to stay away from the Town of Wheaton, citing downed power lines and debris.

The National Weather Service says the tornado struck near Elk Mound shortly before 8 p.m.

At least three semi-trailers overturned along Wisconsin Highway 29 northeast of Elk Mound.

Elk Mound schools opened their high school for anyone needing temporary shelter overnight.