3 Dead, Dozens Homeless in Midwest Tornadoes

Thunderstorms that pummeled Wisconsin and Michigan spawned tornadoes that killed three persons and left dozens homeless, officials said Sunday.

“The northwest part of the state got hit really hard,” Fred Keyes, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Ann Arbor, Mich., said. Most of the severe weather struck late Saturday, he said.

“We’ve had lots of damage--trees down, roads blocked, power lines down, heavy hail, high wind,” said Police Officer Bob Warrick in Ironwood, Mich.

The storm cut power to as many as half of the homes and businesses in Ironwood, a city of 8,700 on the Michigan-Wisconsin line, Warrick said.

The Wisconsin Public Service Corp. reported scattered outages in Oneida and Price counties and said crews from Wausau, Merrill and Stevens Point helped with repairs.

The worst-hit areas in Wisconsin were the Cedar Falls resort and campground on the Willow Flowage west of Rhinelander and a rural subdivision in Minocqua, authorities said.

Emergency shelter for the homeless was arranged at the town hall in Hazelhurst, Wis.

Two deaths were reported in Wisconsin and one in Michigan.