After the storm hit the Midwest on Tuesday, more than 300,000 people lost power in Wisconsin and Illinois.
ComEd, an Illinois power company, said that more than 183,000 customers lost power after the storm, while We Energies of Wisconsin said more than 120,000 customers lost power. As powerful storms caused severe damage to these two states and power lines were removed, utility companies had to scramble to repair damaged areas and restore services in dark areas.
Areas affected by the storm in Illinois include the Chicago metropolitan area, where more than half of the power outages are reported. Residents posted footage and photos of the storm causing lightning strikes in the city and the trees being blown down by high winds. In Evanston, a suburb of Chicago, the fire department warned residents to stay indoors because extreme weather is expected to continue into the night.
The Evanston Fire Department wrote on Twitter: “A major storm blew down trees in Evanston, causing a widespread blackout.” “The storm is expected to continue until later tonight. Be safe and stay. indoors!”
The police in Kenosha, Wisconsin urged residents to “extremely be cautious and stay indoors” because of “multiple reports of the collapse of trees and power lines in the city.” Kenosha had received a severe thunderstorm warning when the storm hit the area.
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The Milwaukee area also issued a severe thunderstorm warning, and law enforcement reported that an unconfirmed tornado had landed near Black Creek, about 25 miles west of Green Bay. The video posted online appears to show the tornado hitting the ground. According to reports, wind speeds in many areas reach 70 miles per hour or higher.
“Due to strong storms, strong winds and lightning, we have seen a large number of power outages. We currently have more than 120,000 customers out of power,” said We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway Milwaukee daily sentinel“Stay away from power outages and use our app or website to report power outages.”
The storm started in Iowa and caused some damage and power outages in the eastern part of the state earlier in the day. Just after 9pm local time, the storm had left Illinois and further eastward into Indiana and Michigan.
As the storm entered the states, parts of Michigan and Indiana issued severe thunderstorm warnings. Consumers Energy, a Michigan power company, reported that as of about 11:30 pm local time, nearly 150,000 people were affected by the power outage. A few people were affected by the power outage in Indiana.
Just a year ago, a series of storms and thunderstorms called “derecho” hit the Midwest. The storm caused widespread power outages and damaged or destroyed millions of trees and devastating crops in the area. Four people were killed and the estimated damage caused by the storm exceeded 11 billion U.S. dollars, making it the heaviest thunderstorm in U.S. history.
