Hudson area continues clean-up following storms, damage

HUDSON, Wis. (FOX 9) - As if someone flipped a switch on Monday, scattered thunderstorms raced across the metro and western Wisconsin. Mother Nature’s heavy rains, lightning and high winds tossed 100-year-old trees into homes and onto power lines, leaving about 20,000 Xcel Energy customers without power.

"It was scary. I was just hoping that everyone was okay around me. I was grateful that my husband and my baby were safe," Skylar Campbell of Hudson told FOX 9.

The brunt of the storm might’ve been felt in North Hudson around 3 p.m. Residents of an apartment complex on Lemon Street North were forced out of their homes after the storm ripped the roof off eight apartment units.

"The roof got peeled off like a sardine can," resident Ed Ratledge said.

The storms brought winds up to 50 to 60 miles per hour to Hudson and parts of the east metro along with some hail.

The storms knocked out power for 20,000 customers. Xcel is working to restore power for everyone.

"My jaw just dropped when I saw the roof and all the cars underneath. It’s a miracle nobody was in their cars," Campbell added.

Camron Wittnebel’s car was crushed by his apartment’s discarded roof. He was inside the building when it happened, "[It] just came out of absolute nowhere," Wittnebel said. "Everything started blowing off the ceiling and it was chaos. It was insane. I’ve never seen anything like that."

Hudson Fire Chief Drew Spielman described the area effected as a narrow stretch of town. He had eight other fire departments on the ground, helping him to get things sorted out on Monday.

"I would imagine it’ll be days before they get power restored, just from the amount of trees that are down and the damage," Spielman said.