30 Hurt in Wisconsin as Winds Continue to Pummel Midwest

High winds destroyed at least 50 homes and caused about 30 injuries Wednesday in Wisconsin as severe weather wracked the Midwest for a third straight day, officials said.

One possible tornado destroyed a home and tore off several roofs in the rural town of Gilman, Ill., but caused no injuries, said Officer Nita Dubble of the Iroquois County sheriff’s office.

In Fitchburg, Wis., high winds or tornadoes demolished 40 to 60 homes, said Capt. David Listug of the Dane County Sheriff’s Department.

“With all the houses that were flattened, it appears to be a miracle” there was no loss of life, he said. “There have been reports of about 30 injuries, but all of them seem to be minor.”

In Oregon, Wis., just south of Madison, 10 to 15 houses were destroyed and about 30 more were damaged, firefighter Gary Wackett said. Witnesses said they did not see a funnel cloud.

A possible tornado ripped roofs from two housing units at the Oregon Correctional Center, slightly injuring three inmates, deputy warden Sandy Sweney said. Nearly every building on the property was damaged, and inmates were transferred to another prison, Sweney said.

In Michigan, several funnel clouds were spotted across the central and northern Lower Peninsula, including one that uprooted trees as it moved across northern Clare County, the National Weather Service reported. No injuries were reported.

The storms, with winds up to 70 m.p.h., cut off power to at least 100,000 customers in Michigan, said Charles MacInnis, spokesman for Consumers Power Co. About 8,000 Detroit Edison Co. customers also lost power.

The same storm system had spawned 60 tornadoes in the central Plains on Monday and more than 50 on Tuesday in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Missouri, the weather service reported.

Monday’s storms caused six injuries; Tuesday’s were blamed for more than 50 injuries and millions of dollars in damage, with the worst destruction in southwest and central Minnesota. No fatalities were reported.