Severe weather washes out Big Bang Fireworks
Severe weather Wednesday night forced the postponement of the Summerfest Big Bang Fireworks as high winds and heavy rains lashed western and southern Wisconsin.
The fireworks have been rescheduled for 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Summerfest officials said.
Meanwhile, an urban and small stream flood advisory was issued for Milwaukee and Waukesha counties by the National Weather Service in Sullivan.
The decision to reschedule the fireworks followed a tornado that touched down near Ellsworth in Pierce County, demolishing a home and toppling a tree, and tornado warnings were issued for areas across southern Wisconsin.
A tornado also was reported near Monticello in Green County, where there were reports of damaged roofs and snapped utility poles, according to the weath-
er service.
The storms packed wind gusts as high as 70 mph and knocked out power to about 17,000 We Energies customers in southeastern Wisconsin, including about 7,900 in Milwaukee County and about 3,300 in Jefferson County.
Heavy rain was reported throughout the area, however total accumulations were not available late Wednesday, according to the weather service.
Waukesha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Washington and Walworth counties were included in a tornado watch issued by the weather service for much of southern Wisconsin Wednesday evening. The watch spanned several hours before expiring about 9 p.m.
There’s a slight chance of showers in Milwaukee Thursday morning before a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m., according to the weather service.
Otherwise, Thursday is expected to be partly sunny, with a high temperature near 83 degrees and a southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, according to the weather service.