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Two trees were blown against a house on Hwy. PP in the Town of Byron.
A shed sustained damage in the town of Oakdale.
A fallen tree blocked traffic on Fountain Avenue in the Town of Byron
A storm-related crash on Interstate 90 sent a long line of traffic through Oakdale.
A downed tree creates a roadblock on Franklin Road in the town of Byron.
A property on Hwy. PP near Hwy. 21 sustained significant damage.
A tree blocks a railroad track that runs parallel with Hwy. 21 in the town of Byron.
At least two tornadoes touched down in western Wisconsin on Wednesday evening, leaving in their path a substantial amount of damage but no deaths or major injuries.
A strong system started to move across the state mid-afternoon bringing rain, strong winds and some hail to the area. The storms ripped roofs off of buildings, knocked out traffic lights and power lines, flattened groves of trees, tipped semis on their sides and more.
One EF-2 tornado touched down just after 4 p.m. outside of Tomah in Monroe County, according to the National Weather Service, which described it at the time as "large and extremely dangerous." Officials said it traveled for about 15 miles before leaving the county.
The storm stopped traffic nearby on Interstate 90-94 for more than three hours because multiple semis had been blown over by the winds.
Damage from an EF-1 tornado that swept through Mauston on Wednesday, June 15.
Another tornado, which was rated as an EF-1 by the NWS on Thursday, touched down in the Mauston area and downed trees and power lines and damaged roofs throughout the community.
Mauston city administrator Randy Reeg said the city of 4,354 was still assessing the damage, though he said there was "quite a bit" to infrastructure and some homes.
"There were no reports of injury or death, so that's fantastic," Reeg said. "All in all it could have been a heck of a lot worse."
Members of the Mauston High School baseball team worked to repair a bent outfield fence at Veteran's Memorial Park, where the storm overturned bleachers and ripped the scoreboard from its wooden posts.
Nearby workers cleared a row of trees snapped in half by the wind.
Wind tore the metal roof off the Roman Castle restaurant on Gateway Avenue. Construction workers made temporary repairs to the roof as a cleaning crew attempted to dry up the rain that had poured in.
The dining room was closed, but staff were serving takeout and a couple dining at a sidewalk table next to a toppled white column.
"It feels just like COVID," said manager Tammy Lavonne. "Outdoor and carryout."
Lavonne said she didn't yet know how long it would take to complete the repairs but she would try to stay open in some capacity for the 19 employees.
"The ones that we have here need to be working," she said.
Damage was also reported at the Mile Bluff Medical Center in Mauston, but officials said no patient care was interrupted and the facility was fully operational on Thursday, except for one elevator.
Public relations director Kathy Behnke said most of the damage at the facility was outside.
"We had a few minor issues. We had a little bit of flooding, taken care of that. The staff has been great doing what we need to do to stay operational," she said.
A tree fell outside of Behnke's office window, and she said "quite a few" vehicles were damaged, but it was unclear who owned them. Behnke praised clean-up crews and the response to storm damage at both Mile Bluff and throughout the city.
Laura McGuire, field communications manager with the American Red Cross, said they've been told at least three mobile homes in the Mauston area were destroyed, but that they were still assessing the situation.
As of Thursday afternoon, McGuire said there were no open cases for anyone needing assistance such as housing or financial support.
"I think the biggest saving grace in that area is that it seems like when the storms came through, it did hit some homes, but not a tremendous amount of homes," McGuire said.
NWS crews were also in the La Farge and Hillsboro areas in Vernon County on Thursday afternoon evaluating whether damage sustained was the result of a tornado.
About an inch to and inch-and-a-half of rain fell across Vernon, Monroe, La Crosse and Jackson counties on Wednesday, adding to what was already a wet week.
As of Thursday morning, the La Crosse River had reached 7.45 feet, hovering at a minor flood stage. The Lemonweir River in New Lisbon was reported at 7.7 feet, which is in the "action" flood stage.
The Kickapoo River in Vernon County was on the rise but hadn't yet reached flood stage
The storms quickly made their way to the eastern part of the state, causing widespread power outages for thousands of customers incapacitating rural roads.
Crews with the Green Bay Metro Fire Department responded to about 150 calls for service in their area, including calls for downed power lines, damaged poles, gas leaks and damage to homes.
Wisconsin State Journal reporter Chris Hubbuch and WiscNews reporter John Gittings contributed to this story.
"There were no reports of injury or death, so that's fantastic. All in all it could have been a heck of a lot worse."
Randy Reeg, Mauston city administrator
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Two trees were blown against a house on Hwy. PP in the Town of Byron.
A shed sustained damage in the town of Oakdale.
Damage from an EF-1 tornado that swept through Mauston on Wednesday, June 15.
A fallen tree blocked traffic on Fountain Avenue in the Town of Byron
A storm-related crash on Interstate 90 sent a long line of traffic through Oakdale.
A downed tree creates a roadblock on Franklin Road in the town of Byron.
A property on Hwy. PP near Hwy. 21 sustained significant damage.
A tree blocks a railroad track that runs parallel with Hwy. 21 in the town of Byron.
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