After Milwaukee County tornado warning, storm damage cleanup begins
WEST ALLIS, Wis. - Severe weather, including thunderstorms and possible tornadoes, pummeled southeastern Wisconsin on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
The National Weather Service will try to survey areas on Thursday to determine if tornadoes did touch down. In the Milwaukee area, where there were reports of near-hurricane-force gusts.
First came the warnings, the sirens and the wind. It didn't take long for people to start assessing the damage and cleaning up the mess.
In West Allis, the severe storms uprooted trees and downed branches. Debris blocked streets and sidewalks. Neighbors worked to move things to the side. One woman told FOX6 News what she saw as the storm rolled in.
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"We heard that tornado siren, and then maybe a few seconds, I saw from the back window the trees are just like, (circling)," said Ljubica Susac.
West Allis officials closed the city dump later Wednesday because of the storm, set to reopen Thursday at 7:15 a.m.
Near 84th and Hayes in West Allis, the city brought a front-end loader and chainsaws to tend to an uprooted tree, which also buckled the sidewalk.
The National Weather Service said six tornadoes may have touched down Wednesday in southeast Wisconsin, between Brown Deer and Whitewater.
From the airport to every stretch of the FOX6 viewing area, Wednesday's warnings weren't just for caution.
Once the storm rolled through in Cudahy, DPW employees cleared their schedules and got to work.
"We've seen a lot of downed power lines and a lot of downed trees," said Frank Miller, DPW director.
There was enough work for a full afternoon, but thankfully, no property damage.
"With the number of trees that came down, the fact that they all fell on the street, none of them fell on a car, nothing fell the wrong direction and landed on a house, yes, it's very fortunate," said Miller.
More video, pictures from Milwaukee County
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