Battle against the breeze: Halloween high winds creating tricky situations

MEQUON (WITI) -- It was nearly impossible to escape the high winds racing through the area today. They snapped limbs, caused sporadic power outages and are making it rough for everybody outside Friday afternoon, especially trick-or-treaters.

When you take a look at some of the costumes running around, you might notice a little extra bulk. That's because kids have to bundle up to beat the cold, or as they tell FOX6 News, their parents did. It's not only the temperatures that are making things tricky, it's the wind as well.

"I had to come down to the lakeshore to see this because I've never seen this before," said Kurt Zuelsdorf, visitor along Lake Michigan.

Zuelsdorf joined dozens of people along Lake Michigan who appeared to feel the same way.

"In the past several years in Florida, we've had tropical storms and few hurricanes, but even there we don't see waves get churned up this high. It's just amazing. Some of these look like they're 15-20 foot waves crashing to the shore," said Zuelsdorf.

While some are out just to look, others hope to capture the sights.

"I'm an amateur photographer, so I grabbed my camera and came down here and there's ton of people taking pictures so it's really fun," said Michele Nelson.

A rare few were hoping to get more hands-on.

"I'm going to go out and surf --bigger is better, bigger wind, bigger waves. That's what I'm all about," said Ryan Hainey, surfer.

But among the excitement, he doesn't lose sight of the fact that these waves and winds can be dangerous.

"It's kind of like you're putting on battle armor, you're going into battle, you're facing the elements. You get humbled by mother nature, there's something really special about that," said Hainey.

Hainey is prepared for these winds. Over on dry land, Joe Menting was not.

"Trying to struggle with the moving truck and the wind, hopefully the mattresses don't blow away and take us with them," said Menting.

While it might make sense that the winds could hinder a task like that, even the simplest of things were made more difficult. Like running, even walking -- and then of course there's trick-or-treating. Besides trying to stay upright, the wind brings cold.

FOX6 News spoke with a family with a 4-year-old and a newborn, they say they're still taking them out trick-or-treating in the weather, but they're being smart about it -- lots of layers and not staying outside for too long.