Eastern Grant County took the hardest hit from the storms that rolled through the region June 28, according to the initial assessment from the Grant County Emergency Management office.
The line of storms resulted in tornado, severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for parts of Southwest Wisconsin.
A tornado warning was issued for east central Grant County for a storm with rotation moving east from Lancaster. Another tornado warning was issued for northeastern Lafayette and southeastern Iowa counties for a storm near Blanchardville.
Emergency Management Director Steve Braun said the highest measured wind gusts were in the 80- to 90-mph range in the Livingston, Montfort and Stitzer areas.
Power transmission lines were down as more than 20 poles were snapped along Wisconsin 80 between Livingston and Montfort, leaving the highway impassable for a considerable period of time. Wisconsin 80 between Montfort and Arthur closed for almost four hours, opening around 10 p.m.
County E from Livingston to Iowa County XX was covered in downed power lines and poles.
Three mobile homes were pushed off their foundations at 1268/1266/1270 Ebenezer Road between Fennimore and Montfort. Residents have a place to stay and are being assisted by family, neighbors and community.
Significant damage was also reported to buildings at Trelay Farms/Biddick Inc. near Livingston A large natural gas leak was reported at the Biddick facility and was controlled by plant maintenance personnel.
In several corn fields, corn was blown down due to the straight-line winds.
Grant and Iowa county highway crews worked throughout the evening. As of 11 p.m. all county and state highways are reported to be open.
Power still remains out as of 10:30 p.m., with no timeline on when it will be fully restored.
A command post has been established at the Livingston–Clifton Fire Station. Mutual Aid was provided to Livingston by the Montfort, Fennimore, Stitzer, Lancaster and Platteville fire departments, although all of the mutual aid units have since been released.
Significant tree and power line damage was a reported along a line from northwest of Lancaster and proceeding through Stitzer to the Montfort and Livingston areas. Trees were also downed to a lesser extent in the Potosi and Cassville areas.
In Bagley, a tree fell on a house at 12694 County X, but no injuries were reported.
As the storms drift away, the new concern is flooding after up to 4 inches of rain fell in parts of southern Grant County, according to the National Weather Service. Flash flooding has been reported in southern and western Grant County. Roads have been reported washed out at Nelson Dewey State Park. Mill Branch Road in rural Cassville was flooded with two feet of moving water over the roadway. Minor flooding of streets and low-lying areas occurred in Platteville.
Model Road near Hazel Green was also flooded and briefly closed. Rainfall reports included 4.5 inches in Dickeyville, 4 to 6 inches in Potosi, and 3 inches in Hazel Green.
A flash flood warning was issued for Lafayette County Wednesday evening.
