STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WHBL) - Thousands of people are still without power in the Stevens Point area, after heavy thunderstorms hit central Wisconsin last night. The Public Service utility said just over 75-hundred electric customers in the region were without electricity just before the lunch hour – but about 10-thousand customers had their power restored after eight this morning. The utility says it has over 30 crews working to bring back the electricity, and they expect everyone to be back online by later this evening. The situation was so bad overnight that the mayor of Stevens Point asked people to stay off the streets until daybreak. Meanwhile, we’re getting new reports of heavy rainfalls in central Wisconsin last night. The National Weather Service said the Marshfield Airport had three-point-one inches for yesterday, breaking a 25-year-old record for the date. And Marshfield’s agricultural research station had three-point-seven inches. City wastewater superintendent Ron Dickrell said the downburst is supposed to happen only once every 250 years – but the city handled it well. Lublin (loob-lin) in Taylor County had the most rainfall in the region, just over four-and-a-half inches. Meanwhile, the four-day-old heat wave is producing some of its hottest temperatures today. The heat index was 108 in Watertown by 11 this morning. Middleton and Boscobel were already baking in 94-degree actual temperatures. Forecasters say highs could reach 100 in some spots today.
