State of emergency in Brownsville, Lomira, Theresa after tornado warned storms in Dodge County

DODGE COUNTY -- A state of emergency was declared in Brownsville, Lomira and Theresa after severe storms pushed through Tuesday, Aug. 28. Dodge County was one of three impacted by tornado warnings Tuesday afternoon and evening -- and the National Weather Service on Wednesday confirmed a tornado touchdown in Brownsville -- an EF1.

The cleanup and power restoration efforts could take days.

Dodge County Emergency Management officials set a public town hall meeting for Wednesday evening at the Lomira Municipal Building on S. Water Street in Lomira, and reception centers were set up at the Brownsville Fire Department in Brownsville, and the Lomira Municipal Building in Lomira. At the reception centers, cellphone charger outlets were made available for residents, along with information on cleanup, contractor safety tips and more.

Officials said cleanup was underway Wednesday, but power was out throughout the area due to downed power lines. We Energies crews were out in the area, working to restore power, with a goal of restoring the majority of power to the area by Wednesday evening.  We Energies reported more than 15,000 customers were without power overnight -- most in Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Ozaukee and Dodge County.

Emergency management officials asked that people take pictures of damage -- and contact their insurance company to report the property damage.

The good news is, it's not believed there were any injuries.

The storms left a mark in Brownsville. We found plenty of damage Wednesday morning, including uprooted trees that took concrete slabs with them, before they crashed into homes -- and Pastor William Carter's minivan.

"Anything that got in the way of a tree is gonna have some damage," said Carter.

Carter was driving home when the storm hit -- white knuckles wrapped around his steering wheel.

"It was a little unusual to feel the wind under the car. I didn't know what was going to happen next," said Carter.

Down the road, James Sucowatey was hunkered down in his basement.

"We heard them banging. We didn't know what was gonna...if the roof was going to be gone or what," said Sucowatey.

The storm snapped Sucowatey's giant tree like a matchstick.

"I was glad it was out in the road and not on the house," said Sucowatey.

The other two confirmed tornado touchdowns happened in the Town of Wilson in Sheboygan County, and the Alto/Brandon area in Fond du Lac County.