A hot and soupy morning across the Upper Midwest gave way to powerful thunderstorms that threatened to unleash tornadoes, heavy rain and strong winds across the region Monday.

By early afternoon, the National Weather Service had already issued multiple tornado warnings as the storms began sweeping through, including at least one described as a “particularly dangerous situation,” the most severe warning.

Photos and videos on social media appeared to show buildings damaged in areas around Appleton, Wisconsin.

By 1 p.m. local time, nearly 200,000 homes and businesses were without power in Wisconsin and Illinois, according to Poweroutage.com, which tracks utilities.

More storms were expected throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

Thunderstorm watches were issued for most of eastern Wisconsin, down into Illinois and Indiana, across the Great Lakes and across the western shores of Michigan. In addition to tornadoes, the weather service warned that the storms could bring damaging winds, sometimes gusting as strong as a hurricane’s.

—

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Judson Jones
c. 2026 The New York Times Company