Cold front comes through with damaging storms and snow

• Thunderstorm

Thunderstorm

Talk about it

A powerful cold front is moving through the Upper Midwest and its caused powerful storms, a drop in temeperatures, fog and even snow.

North-central Wisconsin was hit with a second round of heavy thunderstorms this morning. Marathon County Emergency Management Director Steve Hagman said a half-dozen rural properties had damage near Colby. Several barns were blown down, as winds hit 50-miles-an-hour in the area. Merrill had gusts of 60-miles-an-hour. Weston, just east of Wausau, had golf-ball sized hail. Half-inch-hail covered the ground at Long Lake in Florence County. And trees fell at Pickerel in Langlade County. Hail was also reported in the first wave of storms in the region during the night. The Wisconsin Public Service utility said 5,700 electric customers were without power at 10:45 this morning – most of them in the Rhinelander, Tomahawk, and Merrill areas. Xcel Energy reported about 45 customers out in western Wisconsin – most in the Colby area.

The National Weather Service says more storms are possible today as a cold front moves through Wisconsin. Dense fog is also expected this afternoon in some places. A major cool-off begins tonight, with overnight lows around 30 in most of Wisconsin. Dry weather is expected tomorrow through Monday, but highs are not supposed to get out of the 40’s the entire time.

Heavy rains are in the forecast for today for north central Wisconsin – and don’t be surprised if you see a little flooding. The National Weather Service said fallen leaves have clogged up storm sewer grates in urban areas – and that could result in water building up on roads and parking lots. Small hail fell during the night near La Crosse, Pittsville, and Mosinee. And the same weather system brought heavy thunderstorms to northeast Wisconsin around five a.m. Temperatures are expected to be cooler today, as a cold front moves through the state. Highs will be in the 50’s-and-60’s for the most part. Yesterday, a warm front had southern Wisconsin basking in near-record warmth. Kenosha had 78 degrees, and Madison and Milwaukee came within just a few degrees of setting new record highs for the date. Meanwhile, it stayed cool up north. It was only 56 in Superior – and that area might see snow showers later today and tonight. Overnight lows are expected to fall to around 30-degrees, and maybe the upper-30’s near Lake Michigan. Highs for tomorrow and the weekend are not expected to get out of the 40’s.

Minnesota's weather continues its colder turn, with a band of rain and slushy snow now moving across the lower two-thirds of the state. Forecasters say any accumulations will quickly melt off. Statewide highs today will be lower than early morning temperatures in many places -- in the 30's by this afternoon.

Tags: news, wisconsin, minnesota, weather