BRODHEAD - "Then I just stood there and watched branches fly against the house."
Rich Vogel, director of public works in Brodhead, was up as a second wave of storms hit Green County at 5 a.m. Tuesday, just before sunrise.
"First the wind blew, and then it rained hard, so hard until you couldn't see anything," he said.
Then came the devastation that Vogel could only watch happening from the window of his Brodhead home.
Dozens of large trees in the city were uprooted in the storm; some lay across backyards; others blocked city streets. Utility lines were down, garden sheds were overturned and broken tree limbs were scattered across the city.
Many trees and power lines are down in Juda as well, where wind speeds were estimated at 60 mph at 5 a.m., as reported by the public to the National Weather Service. A trained weather spotter reported the storm damage in Janesville at 5:15 a.m. Reports of Brodhead's storm are eerily absent; nobody called it in.
Vogel implemented emergency protocol for the city, first cordoning off severely dangerous areas and then clearing streets to open as many as he could for emergency vehicles.
"We're running out of barricades," he said hours later.
Cleanup efforts
Before 10 a.m. Tuesday, Vogel was meeting with Butch (Randall) Whitney of Whitney Tree Service, Monroe, by the Brodhead Area EMS building on 12th Street and 2nd Avenue West. He had just rattled off a list of damage sites for the company to clear, which filled a page or more on Whitney's clipboard.
"Now, we're in cleanup mode," he said.
A large tree from the neighboring lot had uprooted and fallen on the city's EMS building. Twice as tall as a two-story house, it took power lines with it and crushed the EMS roof edge. Its branches hung over one of the two garage doors, hindering its use.
"It'll take a crane to lift that" tree trunk off the EMS building, Whitney said, but he would cut back the branches to clear the doors and give EMS personnel access to their vehicles.
"With as many people as there are out with chainsaws this morning, they're going to need it," he added.
But the EMS building was only Whitney's second priority.
Another tree in town, partially uprooted, was leaning, threatening a family residence - that was Whitney's first priority, Vogel said.
Vogel said Brodhead police were out taking pictures of the damage, but they had not estimated the cost of the damages yet.
Brodhead Water and Light had crews from Evansville and Stoughton helping to restore power, which was expected to be from an hour to a day. One Brodhead resident reported that Alliant said it could be two days before his power was restored.
Two Storms
For the most part, the severe storms that rolled across southern Wisconsin generated strong, straight-lined wind and heavy rain.
National Weather Service radar indicated a pronounced rotation over northern Lafayette and southern Iowa counties around 11 p.m. Monday, according to Wisconsin Emergency Operations Center, Department of Military Affairs.
Crews from the National Weather Service confirmed that an F-1 tornado hit the northern section of Green County at about midnight Tuesday morning, primarily in the northern section of York and New Glarus townships. The National Weather Service recorded reports by law enforcement of tornado activity during this time, with "trees down and twisted" four miles east-northeast of Blanchardville, and "part of a roof in the middle of Wisconsin 39," two miles west of the Village of New Glarus.
Extensive damage to homes and an elementary school were reported in Verona.
The Green County Sheriff's Department reported calls began shortly before 1 a.m. Callers reported damage in the northwestern areas of the county, downed power lines and twisted trees. Several homes in the vicinity of Hay Hollow and York Center Road received roof damage, and one home had the windows blown out. Also, a barn was down on Legler Valley Road.
The second storm, shortly before 5 a.m. produced similar damage, primarily to the south and southeastern areas of the county.
The sheriff's department received numerous calls about roads blocked by trees and downed power lines. A large shed was blown down on Preston Road, and a barn collapsed on Giese Road.
Monroe was spared in the recent round of storms.
Rob Driver, supervisor at Monroe Municipal Airport, reported slightly more than 3 inches of rain fell at the airport with winds reaching 44 mph.
Tom Boll, Monroe Street Department supervisor, said the city had little street damage from the rain. Several streets had small washouts, where water forces up the blacktop and base materials. The worst street washout was in the 100 block of 25th Avenue. Paul Klinzing, parks department director, said one large piece of a tree came down on the Farmers Market Square south of the middle school, but generally across the city only small branches were found blown off.
County-wide response
No reports of any death or injuries related to the storms had been reported by 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to Sheriff Mark Rohloff.
The sheriff's report said Alliant Energy estimated about 1,000 residents in Green County were without power as of 11 a.m. Tuesday. Alliant Energy reported on its website that 42 customers in the county were without power by 10:30 p.m.
County highway and town crews were out clearing roads on Tuesday.
Rohloff urged residents to be patient as the damage was significant and widespread. Downed power lines should be considered live and people should make no attempt to approach them.
Deputy Randy Teutschmann was patrolling roads south of Albany at about 8 a.m. Water flooded across County F near Decatur-Albany Road and swirled into culverts at the intersection. Rain stood in low areas of fields east and south of the village. Teutchmann said farmers in the area south of Wisconsin 11 estimated up to 3.5 inches of rain had fallen overnight.
Weather outlook
Green County can expect more thunderstorms and showers through the weekend. The National Weather Service has issued outlooks for hazardous weather and possible flooding or flash flooding in areas. Some storms could produce 1 to 3 inches of rain in a short period of time. Total rainfall amounts through Friday are expected to be in the range of 3 to 5 inches, not including rainfall from Monday night and Tuesday morning. Some rivers may exceed flood stage. Damaging winds will remain a hazard.
Rich Vogel, director of public works in Brodhead, was up as a second wave of storms hit Green County at 5 a.m. Tuesday, just before sunrise.
"First the wind blew, and then it rained hard, so hard until you couldn't see anything," he said.
Then came the devastation that Vogel could only watch happening from the window of his Brodhead home.
Dozens of large trees in the city were uprooted in the storm; some lay across backyards; others blocked city streets. Utility lines were down, garden sheds were overturned and broken tree limbs were scattered across the city.
Many trees and power lines are down in Juda as well, where wind speeds were estimated at 60 mph at 5 a.m., as reported by the public to the National Weather Service. A trained weather spotter reported the storm damage in Janesville at 5:15 a.m. Reports of Brodhead's storm are eerily absent; nobody called it in.
Vogel implemented emergency protocol for the city, first cordoning off severely dangerous areas and then clearing streets to open as many as he could for emergency vehicles.
"We're running out of barricades," he said hours later.
Cleanup efforts
Before 10 a.m. Tuesday, Vogel was meeting with Butch (Randall) Whitney of Whitney Tree Service, Monroe, by the Brodhead Area EMS building on 12th Street and 2nd Avenue West. He had just rattled off a list of damage sites for the company to clear, which filled a page or more on Whitney's clipboard.
"Now, we're in cleanup mode," he said.
A large tree from the neighboring lot had uprooted and fallen on the city's EMS building. Twice as tall as a two-story house, it took power lines with it and crushed the EMS roof edge. Its branches hung over one of the two garage doors, hindering its use.
"It'll take a crane to lift that" tree trunk off the EMS building, Whitney said, but he would cut back the branches to clear the doors and give EMS personnel access to their vehicles.
"With as many people as there are out with chainsaws this morning, they're going to need it," he added.
But the EMS building was only Whitney's second priority.
Another tree in town, partially uprooted, was leaning, threatening a family residence - that was Whitney's first priority, Vogel said.
Vogel said Brodhead police were out taking pictures of the damage, but they had not estimated the cost of the damages yet.
Brodhead Water and Light had crews from Evansville and Stoughton helping to restore power, which was expected to be from an hour to a day. One Brodhead resident reported that Alliant said it could be two days before his power was restored.
Two Storms
For the most part, the severe storms that rolled across southern Wisconsin generated strong, straight-lined wind and heavy rain.
National Weather Service radar indicated a pronounced rotation over northern Lafayette and southern Iowa counties around 11 p.m. Monday, according to Wisconsin Emergency Operations Center, Department of Military Affairs.
Crews from the National Weather Service confirmed that an F-1 tornado hit the northern section of Green County at about midnight Tuesday morning, primarily in the northern section of York and New Glarus townships. The National Weather Service recorded reports by law enforcement of tornado activity during this time, with "trees down and twisted" four miles east-northeast of Blanchardville, and "part of a roof in the middle of Wisconsin 39," two miles west of the Village of New Glarus.
Extensive damage to homes and an elementary school were reported in Verona.
The Green County Sheriff's Department reported calls began shortly before 1 a.m. Callers reported damage in the northwestern areas of the county, downed power lines and twisted trees. Several homes in the vicinity of Hay Hollow and York Center Road received roof damage, and one home had the windows blown out. Also, a barn was down on Legler Valley Road.
The second storm, shortly before 5 a.m. produced similar damage, primarily to the south and southeastern areas of the county.
The sheriff's department received numerous calls about roads blocked by trees and downed power lines. A large shed was blown down on Preston Road, and a barn collapsed on Giese Road.
Monroe was spared in the recent round of storms.
Rob Driver, supervisor at Monroe Municipal Airport, reported slightly more than 3 inches of rain fell at the airport with winds reaching 44 mph.
Tom Boll, Monroe Street Department supervisor, said the city had little street damage from the rain. Several streets had small washouts, where water forces up the blacktop and base materials. The worst street washout was in the 100 block of 25th Avenue. Paul Klinzing, parks department director, said one large piece of a tree came down on the Farmers Market Square south of the middle school, but generally across the city only small branches were found blown off.
County-wide response
No reports of any death or injuries related to the storms had been reported by 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to Sheriff Mark Rohloff.
The sheriff's report said Alliant Energy estimated about 1,000 residents in Green County were without power as of 11 a.m. Tuesday. Alliant Energy reported on its website that 42 customers in the county were without power by 10:30 p.m.
County highway and town crews were out clearing roads on Tuesday.
Rohloff urged residents to be patient as the damage was significant and widespread. Downed power lines should be considered live and people should make no attempt to approach them.
Deputy Randy Teutschmann was patrolling roads south of Albany at about 8 a.m. Water flooded across County F near Decatur-Albany Road and swirled into culverts at the intersection. Rain stood in low areas of fields east and south of the village. Teutchmann said farmers in the area south of Wisconsin 11 estimated up to 3.5 inches of rain had fallen overnight.
Weather outlook
Green County can expect more thunderstorms and showers through the weekend. The National Weather Service has issued outlooks for hazardous weather and possible flooding or flash flooding in areas. Some storms could produce 1 to 3 inches of rain in a short period of time. Total rainfall amounts through Friday are expected to be in the range of 3 to 5 inches, not including rainfall from Monday night and Tuesday morning. Some rivers may exceed flood stage. Damaging winds will remain a hazard.