The National Weather Service let tornado warnings in Wisconsin expire Tuesday night for portions of Milwaukee, Waukesha and Washington counties after severe storms moved through southeastern Wisconsin on Aug. 18. The warnings ended even as We Energies still reported 40,085 customers without power at 10 p.m.
Milwaukee County outages
The weather service had issued a tornado warning for central Milwaukee County until 7:30 p.m. and another for central and southern Waukesha County until 7:15 p.m. Its warning language said flying debris could be dangerous and that the storms could damage roofs, windows, vehicles and trees.
By 10 p.m., 22,578 We Energies customers without power were in Milwaukee County, the largest share of the outage total. Waukesha County had 11,318 customers without power, and Washington County had 2,477.
Weather service guidance
The National Weather Service said a basement below ground level or the lowest floor of a building offers the greatest safety. It also said to put as many walls between yourself and the outside as possible and to avoid windows.
For anyone driving in an area under a tornado warning, the weather service said not to try to outrun a tornado, particularly on highways. It said to look for a way to safely get off the road and out of the vehicle, preferably by seeking refuge in a sturdy building. As a last resort, it said to lie flat in the nearest depression, ditch or culvert and cover your head with your arms.
Adrienne Davis on X
Adrienne Davis, a general assignment and breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, identified the warnings and outage counts in her coverage and listed a contact email and X handle. The basic breakdown is straightforward: the warnings ended, but the power losses were still spreading across the hardest-hit counties hours later.
A tornado watch means conditions are primed for a tornado, but no tornado has formed, and it can last hours without one ever touching down. A warning is more urgent: it means a tornado is imminent or already on the ground, which is why the county-by-county warnings and the later outage totals mattered to people trying to decide where to shelter.
