Tornadoes, hail and floods: Recap a difficult week in southern Wisconsin

High winds early Tuesday downed several trees, some onto homes on Prairie du Sac’s north side.

Matt Gaffney is a new father and kicked into protective mode early Tuesday as strong winds bore down on his East Woodland Trail home.

A confirmed tornado touched down west of Union Center around 6 p.m. Tuesday, damaging about 10 homes, but causing no injuries, Juneau County authorities reported.

Thunderstorms swept across Wisconsin on Tuesday, April 14, bringing heavy rain, hail and even possible tornadoes to parts of the state.

There were no reports of flash flooding or hail reported in Racine and Kenosha counties. Larger hail stayed northwest of the counties.

Westby was in cleanup mode Wednesday morning as residents assessed the damage caused by a severe thunderstorm that hit the city Tuesday afternoon.

The Wisconsin River was at 18.9 feet as of Wednesday morning and officials project levels to rise to more than 20 feet. The river reaches flood stage at 17 feet, according to the DNR.

Several residents and businesses near the Beltline and Ocean Road area faced significant home damage, uprooted trees and downed power lines after being hit by a severe storm Tuesday morning.

The city took a direct hit from Tuesday evening’s massive hailstorm.

A roof was torn off a storage facility and a property shed was destroyed in the twister.

For the third night in a row, the Milwaukee area was hit with a deluge of rain, and this time not even the roof at American Family Field could keep out the water.

So far, NWS has confirmed one tornado touched down in Racine County Tuesday evening.

The Portage area has gotten about 1.5 inches of rain in since Tuesday.

The total also could grow Friday afternoon and night, as roughly the western half of southern Wisconsin is under an enhanced risk for more severe storms, including strong tornadoes.

Buildings at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, the Public Market, two fire stations, the Fleet Services building and more than 20 police cars all sustained damage Tuesday.

Owner Raymond Hohe, 67, said he had sold the home and its roughly 188 acres of land for about $1.7 million.

Residents in low-lying areas have flooded basements and land plots, while Portage crews are draining city sewer lines.

About 75 homes were damaged or destroyed when an unconfirmed tornado hit the Marathon County town of Ringle about 5 p.m. on Friday.

Another round of severe storms Friday dumped even more rain on southern Wisconsin.