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DNR urges snowmobile safety

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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources urges safe snowmobiling. The DNR reports five snowmobile fatalities so far this month and urges all snowmobile operators to make safety the top priority for every ride.

The five fatalities involved single adult operators, ranging from 42 to 68 years old. Four of the five victims were men. These crashes are under investigation.

WPS clears utility crews to head south to work on hurricane relief efforts

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Wisconsin Public Service is gearing up to help those affected by Hurricane Ian in Florida and the southeast.

WPS Spokesman Matt Cullen says contracted crews that usually help WPS are instead being sent south. 

“Instead of having them remain with us and continue to perform work on our behalf, we again have released them so that they can assist with this restoration effort and be part of it.”

Millions of people are without power across Florida, and that number will likely increase as Ian travels across the east coast.

“It’s something that we’re continuing to closely monitor because there could be an additional request that would go out for additional crews, perhaps even our own to be able to assist with this effort,” says Cullen.

Forecasters say Ian is likely to make landfall once again near Charleston, South Carolina on Friday.

NWS confirms 6 tornadoes in Wisconsin from Wednesday weather

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A total of six tornadoes have been confirmed as a result of Wednesday’s severe weather in Wisconsin.

As of Friday morning the National Weather Service in Green Bay confirmed EF1 tornados in Seymour in Outagamie County and West Bloomfield in Waushara County, as well as a tornado in Silver Cliff in Marinette County.

In western Wisconsin, the Weather Service’s La Crosse office confirmed EF1 tornados in La Farge in Vernon County and Mauston in Juneau County, and an EF2 in Wyeville in Monroe County.

Weather Service crews also planned to survey damage and determine whether more tornadoes touched down in other locations.

September is National Preparedness Month

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September is National Preparedness Month. Andrew Beckett with Wisconsin Emergency Management explains the goal:

“To get people to think about the ways that they can ‘prepare to protect.’ Prepare to protect themselves, the ones they love, their property. Basically all the steps they can take in order to make sure that they are protected in the event an emergency takes place.”

Beckett says you can find preparedness resources can be found online at Ready Wisconsin, and   through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “Ready.Gov” campaign.

This year’s theme for National Preparedness Month is “prepare to protect.”

Evers declares statewide State Of Emergency following severe weather

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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has declared a statewide State of Emergency. The action follows severe overnight storms affecting several regions of Wisconsin, and causing widespread damage, downed trees and power lines, power outages, and road closures due to debris.

Evers said he’s declared a State of Emergency to ensure state resources are available to get communities the support and help they need. The order directs state agencies to help those affected by the storms and also allows the Wisconsin National Guard to be called to active duty to provide assistance supporting local authorities with their recovery efforts.

The National Weather Service is investigating several possible tornadoes that were spawned in Wednesday night’s derecho. Meteorologist Andy Boxtell said possible tornadoes spawned in southern Wisconsin, near Concord and in Waukesha County.

“So far just sporadic reports of damage nothing on the order of what we’ve heard about in the Concord area but undoubtedly some trees down and such things across that region,” Boxtell said.

Teams are also investigating possible tornadoes in Marathon, Portage and Winnebago counties. Some areas of Central Wisconsin received several inches of rain overnight, causing minor flooding along the Wisconsin River.

Thousands of people remain without power as of Thursday morning, including about 6,000 customers of Wisconsin Public Service in Wausau.

“We understand that it’s frustrating to be without power, but we’re committed and will continue to work tirelessly so that we can restore service,” said WPS spokesman Matt Cullen. Cullen said many of those same crews were working in the Rhinelander-Antigo area earlier this week. If you come across downed lines or damaged equipment, do not try to fix it yourself and call it in immediately.

Affiliate WSAU contributed to this report

 

Stay safe if you need to be outside this week

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Dress appropriately

Very cold temperatures have settled in across Wisconsin this week, and that means taking precautions if you’re spending any time outdoors. Andrew Becket with Wisconsin Emergency Management explains the signs of hypothermia.

“With hypothermia, you should be looking for signs like excessive shivering, exhaustion, confusion, slurred speech. If you start to experience things like that or notice that in anyone who’s around you, you should contact 911 or your medical provider as soon as possible.”

Along with hypothermia, Beckett said frostbite is a real possibility during extreme cold weather.

“With frostbite, skin that looks white or grayish yellow, feels unnaturally firm or waxy. If you have general numbness or extreme numbness, you should detect those symptoms and get to a warm area. Don’t try to rub vigorously or anything, it can cause more damage.”

If you must be outdoors, make sure you’re dressed appropriately.

“Wear loose fitting layers, a hat, gloves, snow boots, make sure you have a scarf or something to cover your face,” Beckett said. “You want to limit the amount of exposed skin as much as possible, because that’s really where you’re going to get into trouble, is exposing that skin to the elements and the extreme cold, especially with those wind chills that could be in excess of 30 below zero.”

You can find a comprehensive list of cold weather safety recommendations at dma.wi.gov.

Remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal to dump heavy rains across Wisconsin

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Wisconsin will be seeing the remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal moving through the state.

National Weather Service meteorologist Logan Lee says we should expect to see extended amounts of rain and possible severe weather through Wednesday. 

“One to three inches of rain especially across parts of Southwest Wisconsin through Central Wisconsin and there could be localized pockets of more than that.”

Lee says we’ll see the perfect conditions for flash flooding and possible tornadoes. 

“We’re kind of getting that influx of the tropical moisture and the remnants of that tropical system so it’s a really juicy environment for heavy rain.”

Lee says it’s a good idea to have your weather radio running or have access to other ways to get storm alerts in the case that a tornado forms or if there’s flash flooding in your area.

Weekend EF-1 tornado does damage in Grant County

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The National Weather Service has confirms damaging tornadoes in southwestern Wisconsin and northeastern Iowa on Saturday. Early reports indicate the tornado was an E-F-1 with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles-an-hour.

It was on the ground for almost seven miles in Grant County. The storm track was about a mile north of Potosi and damage was done to a home, several farms and trees, with small hail left covering the ground after it passed.

State of Emergency declared due to storm damage in Milwaukee, Racine & Kenosha counties

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Governor Tony Evers has signed an Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency in Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha counties. That’s in response to lakeshore flooding and strong winter storms which occurred January 10th-through-12th and caused significant infrastructure damage in areas along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

A State of Emergency declaration directs state agencies to assist those affected by the storms. It also allows the Wisconsin National Guard to be called to active duty, as the adjutant general deems it necessary, to support local recovery efforts

More snow coming to Wisconsin this weekend

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You’re not going to escape it – there is at least a chance of snow for just about everyone in the state over the next few days.  

The National Weather Service says you should enjoy the nice holiday weather today because Friday, Saturday and Sunday figure to include snowfall throughout Wisconsin.  

Western Wisconsin could be covered by another six inches of snow, while Madison and Milwaukee can expect about an inch.