OTTAWA, Kan. – A day after severe storms damaged communities in the Plains and the Midwest, forecasters warned that storms could bring giant hail, tornadoes and severe wind gusts to the regions again on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Authorities in Kansas reported several people with minor injuries after storms passed through on Monday. Three people were left with minor injuries in rural Franklin County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, according to the sheriff’s office. In Ottawa, a city of about 13,000 people, officials said there was structural damage, but there were no deaths or injuries. Power lines and trees were damaged, as well as several businesses, including one where outside walls were gone.
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A National Weather Service survey team will assess damage in the Ottawa area on Tuesday to determine whether a tornado passed through there, according to Chelsea Picha, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Topeka.
In neighboring Miami County, two people reported minor injuries, several homes were destroyed and recreational vehicles and campers were overturned, according to the sheriff’s office. Power lines were de-energized in Hillsdale until cleanup could be safely completed, the sheriff’s office said.
Three tornadoes touched down in southern Minnesota, where some damage to farms was reported, according to Jake Beitlich, a meteorologist in the Twin Cities office. There were also reports of baseball-sized hail that caused damage to vehicles in the area, he said.
A tornado touched down near Gilman, a village of about 380 people in northwestern Wisconsin, said Jeff Boyne, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s La Crosse, Wisconsin, office, but he said the damage was minor. The weather service was still working to determine the tornado’s rating. The storms peeled the roof off a manufactured home in Steuben, a village of about 120 people in southwestern Wisconsin, he said, but there have been no reports of any injuries in the state.
A number of schools around the Madison area were forced to close Tuesday morning due to lack of power. More than 25,000 customers were without power in Wisconsin on Tuesday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
Forecasters warned of significant river and small stream flooding expected through the end of the week in the Upper Great Lakes with the heaviest rainfall expected overnight into Wednesday with scattered flash flooding.
In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency Friday at the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex as record snowfall in March and the recent rain have elevated water levels. More pumps were being added to help push water toward Lake Huron on Monday. As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, the water level was 7.68 inches (19.5 centimeters) below the top of the structure, according to a state website.