The extent of the damage was not yet clear, but there are no immediate reports of injuries or deaths. A hospital was hit, trailers overturned and roofs blown up in Mauston, Juno County, about 60 miles east of La Crosse. There were also many reports of strong winds. Hospital officials at Mile Bluff Medical Center said in a post on social media that there was damage to trees and vehicles in hospitals and minor damage to the facility. “Patients, residents and staff remained safe during the storm,” the post said at around 7 p.m. CDT. “We are currently operating with a backup power, which allows us to safely care for all patients and residents currently on our premises.” (Prediction: Severe weather threat continues in Midwest, East) These details came after prior information from the city. “There must be tornado damage here in Mauston,” the city said in a Facebook post at around 6 p.m. CDT. “Our first responders and emergency personnel are busy responding to emergencies and assessing the extent of the damage. We have not heard of any injuries or deaths at this time.” Mauston city manager Randy Reeg told The Weather Channel that the city is asking people not to go outside to see the damage right now. “We just hope people can avoid it right now so we can get the job done and make everyone safe again,” Rigg said. Rigg said residents of a nearby caravan park took refuge in City Hall during the storm. A half-hour is seen on his side near Mauston, Wisconsin, after at least one tornado passed in the area on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. (Sean Macadei) More than 111,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity around 8 p.m. CDT, according to PowerOutage.us. The National Weather Service in La Crosse said a tornado was on the ground in nearby Monroe County near Tomah just after 4 p.m. Power cords and large trees were down in the area and at least one structure was damaged. The tornado passed near or above the Interstate 90/94 junction in the same area. The video from there showed at least two semifinals on their side, but if it was not clear if they were blown up or involved in a collision. The state’s road site reported that debris was blocking part of the road and the lanes to the east were closed in a section in Monroe County. Severe weather will continue to move east. On Thursday, strong winds with catastrophic winds could affect areas from western New York to the south to central Appalachians. A single tornado or two is also possible. The storms come in the middle of a heat wave that hit the Upper Midwest and after bad weather on Monday that included a rare double derecho. Derechoes are storm assemblies that cause concentrated wind damage and / or strong wind reports at least 250 miles away. Monday’s thunderstorms hit areas of Wisconsin, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan and Indiana. Many of these areas, especially Ohio, were still experiencing extensive power outages caused by derechoes and heat combined. The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report breaking weather, the environment and the importance of science in our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
