Crews working to restore power on South Shore and Upper Peninsula

Xcel Energy says its crews are making progress restoring power. Tuesday’s winter storm brought heavy snow and storm winds to northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, causing widespread outages and damage to trees, poles, and power lines.

About 14,000 customers were affected, primarily in the Manitowish and Hayward areas of Wisconsin and Ironwood, Michigan. As of Thursday morning, Xcel says 40% of its customers have power restored, but officials warn that due to extensive damage and challenging conditions. Repairs could extend into Friday.

Crews from the Twin Cities metro, southeastern Minnesota, and Sioux Falls have joined local teams to speed up repairs. Xcel Energy says priority goes to situations that pose safety risks, such as downed power lines, and to repairs that will restore service to the largest number of customers first.

You can view outages on Xcel’s map here. The company urges customers to report outages online of by calling 1-800-895-1999.