Storm system knocks out power for thousands in Coulee Region

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLCX) – Tuesday’s powerful storm system that went across the Midwest left tens of thousands of people in Wisconsin without power.

Service was still out for people across the state well into Wednesday, including several hundred customers in the Coulee Region.

At the peak of the outages, it was estimated that over 6,000 people in west-central Wisconsin lost power, according to Xcel Energy. As of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, several hundred still had no service in La Crosse, Trempealeau, Monroe, Vernon, and Jackson counties, according to PowerOutage.us.

The National Weather Service in La Crosse said that there were numerous reports of wind gusts from 50 to 75 miles per hour across southwestern Wisconsin. French Island had a reported gust of 63mph.

Grant County in far southwestern Wisconsin had a recorded wind gust of 75mph. There were also several reports of large hail, ranging from a half inch all the way up to 1.75″. Heavy rains also fell, with 1.29″ of rain at the La Crosse Regional Airport.

Over 3 inches of rain fell at La Farge in Vernon County. Over 4 inches of rain was observed near Necedah.

Storm damage in southwestern Wisconsin was largely limited to downed trees and power lines, but a few structures and vehicles were damaged.

National Weather Service officials from La Crosse are surveying damage in Buffalo and Clark counties today. They will also be doing a survey in Winona County, Minn.

The City of La Crosse opened its brush and yard waste site from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow.

If anyone has an issue with a tree on city property, such as a boulevard, you can call La Crosse’s Parks and Forestry Dept. at 608-785-7533.