Damage, flooding reported from Monday storms
Low pressure moves through Wisconsin Monday
MADISON, Wis. — Wind damage and flooding is reported throughout southern Wisconsin after severe weather moved through the area on Monday afternoon.
SUNSET AND RAINBOWS AFTER THE STORM
Crews in Grant and Iowa counties were cleaning up Monday evening after a second day of severe weather.
Flooding was reported at numerous Madison intersections after the storm moved through, but much of it receded within the hour.
Storms took out trees and flattened crops east of Livingston at the home of Roger Schambow. He was in his shed watching the storm when high winds or a possible funnel cloud roared outside.
“It could have took that shed and I was standing right in it,” said Schambow.
The Livingston Fire Department was responding to the home as power lines were taken down by the falling trees.
“He is really lucky because you never know the magnitude of a tornado and what it can do,” said Chief Charles Hrubes.
Schambow says he didn’t seek shelter because he’d been watching storms go by for years. But he says now it wasn’t wisdom that left him still standing.
“By the grace of God I’m still here,” said Schambow.
Grant County Emergency Management Director Steve Braun said wind gusts were 50-60 mph on average, with up to 70+ mph gusts in the Lancaster and Livingston areas during the storms.
He said power outages were reported in many areas in central Grant County, and several buildings were reported down including an Amish school that was destroyed south of Livingston.
Across the rest of southern Wisconsin, Madison-based Alliant Energy says about 1,500 customers remained without power early Tuesday, down from a high of 10,000. Madison Gas and Electric reported 474 customers without power. By 6:30 a.m., MG&E was reporting 32 customers without power in the Madison area.
At least 115,000 customers of Milwaukee-based We Energies were without power at the peak of the outage.
We Energies spokesman Rick White says power has been restored to more than 80,000 customers, but about 36,000 customers were still without electricity Tuesday morning.
White says Monday’s storm damaged 29 power poles. He calls it the utility’s worst outage in a decade.
