Madison: Damaging winds cause largest power outage in nearly 50 years

 

MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- Hurricane-force winds swept across Madison Tuesday night, May 21, causing one of the largest power outages in nearly 50 years, officials say.

At times reports of up to 80 MPH winds ripped through the Capital City leaving many trees split in half, debris blocking roadways and branches damaging hundreds of power lines.

The strength of the storm left more than 42,000 residents without power in the Madison-area, according to Madison Gas and Electric.

"This was one of the largest outages in MG&E history," said Steve Schultz, a spokesman for MG&E. "What we saw last night, those straight-line winds and hurricane force that came though, really does some damage."

It marks nearly 50 years since tens of thousands of residents were impacted by power outages. Officials compared the magnitude of Tuesday's storm to the Great Ice Storm of 1976 that left more than 600,000 residents without power for days.

Schultz said MG&E customers should be prepared for a multi-day outage.

"We certainly understand that is an inconvenience and not what anyone wants to hear," Schultz said. "Fixing one broken power pole takes time and it's not a quick fix."

As of 4:00 p.m., under 9,500 MG&E customers were still without power.

The storm also caused damage to a few vehicles at Quality Cars Dealership, a used car dealership off Cottage Grove Road.

A tree branch smashed through one car's windshield and two other vehicles were damaged, according to the owner.

Others are taking a sign of relief this morning after a tree fell on Peggy Brigham's home in the Meadowood neighborhood on the east side. Brigham said she’s glad there was no damage to the interior of her home. 

"I think the gutters on the front are going to have to be replaced, but hopefully there's nothing on the roof," Brigham's said. "And that's the trouble in this neighborhood, you know, a lot of the trees are older, and we were just one of the lucky ones."