Video shows apparent tornado spotted in West Allis; cleanup efforts underway in Southeast Wisconsin
WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- People throughout Southeastern Wisconsin are dealing with the aftermath of storms Wednesday, Oct. 12.
We Energies crews are out working to restore power to affected areas. At its peak, there were more than 21,000 customers without power. The number of outages as of 5 p.m. stood at around 2,500.
A viral video on social media captured by a local kitchen appliance store shows the moment an apparent tornado hit the West Allis area Wednesday afternoon.
The video was captured by D.A. Berther, a family-owned appliance store. The tornado only lasted some seconds, but the owner tells us he's never experienced something like this.
"The wind twisted and was blowing around and I said, 'this is really cool.' I lived in a tornado once when I lived in Kentucky and nothing like this though -- and all of a sudden, look at that! The water was spinning and went down the middle of National," said owner Jeff Berther.
He described it like a vortex of some sort. Luckily, it seems everyone is safe.
And damage from the storm has crews picking up what's left behind in Milwaukee.
Neighbors in Spring Prairie say they felt the wind start picking up and heard the tornado sirens go off shortly after noon.
The storm rolled through leaving destruction in its wake including a lot of downed trees and even some damage to some homes in this rural neighborhood.
"I took my puppy dog and went to the basement because I wasn't gonna, when I saw that wind I decided it was time to go," said Spring Prairie resident Ellen Lemken.
"I started walking up into the kitchen and I noticed there's water everywhere, and I thought what is this, and I looked and the skylights were blown off the top," said Bobby Freiheit, who was home during the storm.
The family here tells CBS 58 there is some water damage in the home.
Traffic on Spring Prairie Road is open once again.
Crews had to shut it down while they were clearing this large tree off the road.
Everyone here tells me they're just grateful nobody was injured.
Near South 68th and West Harrison, downed limbs lined the streets.
People there said they're glad none those larger limbs fell on their homes, instead they wound up blocking roads and stopping traffic.
Rachelle Gardener says she was home for lunch and to walk the dogs when the warning went off on her phone, then on the TV.
She says with recent work done on the house, she was worried her home would wind up in danger.
"I just heard a big thud on my roof, I got some branches down, and some branches on my roof, but nothing like that luckily. So, everything is safe, I just got new windows, so I was worried about that," said Gardener.
If you're in the city of Milwaukee and need tree service, officials say to call 414-286-2489.
Down by Turtle Lake near Delavan, the community is working to restore its neighborhoods and clear away the storm's aftermath as, multiple uprooted trees and other natural debris cover the area.
Homeowners said the severe weather was "sudden" and "shocking."
"There was a lot of tree damage and a lot of branches down," said resident Bill Paladino. "It was scary."
Paladino said he was alerted to the damage after a call from his neighbor.
"She said that she was so scared that she dropped to the floor in her house because she thought the windows were literally going to blow out," Paladino said.
Chad Visger, another Delavan resident, said he was at his son's doctor's appointment in East Troy when he was told to shelter in place.
"I did not expect a tornado to come through here, especially when I was just driving on the road like 10 minutes before," Visger said.
Captain John O'Neill with the Delavan Fire Department (DFD) said he was out driving around noon when "all of a sudden, it looked like devastation."
"There were probably 10, 12 trees down," Capt. O'Neill said. "At one point I could only see five feet from my vehicle, it was raining and so windy."
DFD Fire Chief Timothy O'Neill said when severe weather is occurring, the most important thing you can do is stay indoors.
"We did have one citizen that moved a power line," Chief O'Neill said. "We never recommend that. They should stay as far away from power lines as possible."
"Take every alarm seriously, because you never know when it's really going to happen," Capt. O'Neill added.
With Wednesday's storms cutting such a wide swath through the viewing area, it will take time for several communities to clean up the damage.
Neighborhoods near West Allis Central HS seem to have bore the brunt of the storm. A massive tree came down on the edge of campus, a block away tree branches came down on power lines, and a little beyond that is where an apparent tornado was caught on camera.
Jeff Berther's security camera filmed the apparent tornado. He said, "It was pretty scary. And I'm still shaking from it."
When Berther and his niece got the alerts Wednesday, she wanted to head to the basement, but he watched out the window first.
Berther said, "All of a sudden, I say 'look at that!' The water was spinning, and it went down the middle of National and turned up 90th Street."
The security camera at their restaurant supply store caught the spinning vortex as it ripped off tree branches and twisted road closed signs.
The wind also pulled open the front door. Berther grabbed it and locked it shut. He said it lasted just a few seconds.
Similar scenes played out throughout West Allis.
Rachelle Gardner said, "I was watching tv with the storm coming, and the tornado warning. And all of a sudden they said to get in your basement."
Trees went down near Gardner's home. She said, "I just heard a big thud on my roof." But her roof is ok, and so are her new windows.
A branch pierced a garage roof in a nearby alley. And branches from the same tree dangled from powerlines that were still dead hours after the storm hit.
Kalin Xhrist said the tree that went down near the high school was a landmark of the area, but it picked the perfect direction to fall. He said, "It's the best way it could have went. Didn't hit the cars, didn't hit our cars, didn't hit our house."
In St. Francis, a sizeable tree toppled onto three cars parked at the aurora urgent care.
Michael Piwarun said, "I didn't even know that tree was that thick."
And Dave Bieszk said, "Once I came around the corner of the garage, I saw the fallen tree. And I was just 'wow,' you know. 'We really had some wind here.'"