Several homes damaged after a tornado rips through central Wisconsin, officials say

By Aya Elamroussi and Andy Rose, CNN

Several homes were damaged Wednesday by a tornado in central Wisconsin, officials said.

The tornado was reported near Tomah, Wisconsin, just after 4 p.m. local time and apparently traveled northeast through Monroe County for about 15 miles, according to the county’s sheriff’s office.

Interstate 90 was closed for more than three hours due to trailers being blown onto their sides, but no deaths or major injuries were reported.

“The tornado took down multiple trees, power lines, and barns,” the county’s sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post. “There is wide spread power outage and damage to a number of homes as well.”

In the meantime, officials asked people to avoid the area because many roads remain impassible and littered with debris from the damage.

Tomah is about 100 miles northwest of Madison, Wisconsin.

As of Thursday morning, nearly 100,000 homes and businesses in Wisconsin were in the dark following the storm, according to PowerOutage.us.

Mile Bluff Medical Center in Mauston, Wisconsin, said a storm passed through its area and damaged trees and vehicles, though the facility experienced minor damage. The storm also prompted patients, residents and staff members to shelter in place.

“We are currently running on back-up power, which allows us to safely care for all patients and residents who are currently in our facility,” the medical center wrote in a Facebook post, adding power was expected to be restored in the evening.

And while the medical center doesn’t anticipate appointment interruptions Thursday, it noted access to its emergency room is limited.

In Columbia County, the sheriff’s office said there were 68 reports of downed trees and power lines on roadways throughout the county. A “couple” of homes also saw some damages, officials noted.
“There are numerous roads that are impassible because of these hazards,” the office said.

The tornado swept through the region grappled with a simmering heat wave and the aftermath of severe storms from earlier this week. On Tuesday, the heat index reached 108 degrees Fahrenheit at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, the National Weather Service said.

Temperatures in Milwaukee on Wednesday reached up to 95 degrees — nearly 20 degrees above average — with high humidity, according to NWS.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday two heat-related deaths are under investigation, and autopsy results are expected Thursday. CNN has reached out to the medical examiner’s office for additional information.

Meanwhile, the severe storms moving across the Upper Midwest and the Ohio River Valley on Monday left more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power as of early Thursday across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia and Alabama, according to PowerOutage.us.

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CNN’s Chris Boyette and Robert Shackelford contributed to this report.