Overnight storm downs trees, disrupts power across Cook County
While rain was welcome during an otherwise dangerously dry few weeks, the storm that rolled across Cook County on May 15 and lasting into the overnight hours caused power outages and damaged some trees.
WTIP did not hear of widespread power outages during the storm; some isolated outages in Tofte and Colvill were reported.
In total, the isolated power outages impacted over 1,100 meters, said Ashley VanDoren, the operations administrator with Arrowhead Cooperative. “This number doesn’t directly correlate to the total number of homes impacted, but it provides a general sense of the scale.”
“Our crews worked through the night to restore power to as many members as possible,” VanDoren said. “We’ve made significant progress, but smaller outages remain, particularly in the Tofte and Colvill areas.”
Arrowhead Cooperative crews will resume restoration efforts on Friday afternoon.
As is frequently the case with weather events involving strong winds, trees came down across the county. The Cook County Highway Department sent out crews during the rain to clear downed trees off of roads and in places that were a public safety concern.
Highway Department Engineer Robbie Kimmel-Hass told WTIP on Friday morning, “We dispatched folks last night to clean up the East End and today the only place we are is Tofte Park Road, getting that cleaned up.”
“We lost about 2/3 of the trees in the Tofte Park,” Craig Horak, the supervisor of the Tofte Town Board, told WTIP. “There must have been some wind shear, and it took our trees and laid them across the road.”
“We probably have about 40 trees down,” he said. Two of the trees fell on top of the Tofte Town Hall. Tofte Park Road is closed right now, Horak said, and crews will be working throughout the day to clear the downed trees.
Hass added that crews from his department work to keep roads passable, even during storms. If residents see more trees that need removal from roads, they should reach out to the Highway Department at 218-387-3014, or they can call the sheriff’s dispatch and be connected.
WTIP’s Chuck Olsen photographed the remaining trees that were awaiting cleanup on Friday morning. Some trees were blocking Tofte Park Road, and some fell onto the Tofte Fire Hall. He also shared a video documenting the damage to Facebook.
The high winds from Thursday evening storm also caused damage to trees and created power outages near Split Rock Lighthouse in Silver Bay. In a Friday morning Facebook post, Split Rock Lighthouse shared there are trail closures due to downed trees. “For everyone’s safety, the trail is temporarily closed while we work to clear the debris,” the post says. While power remains interrupted in the area, the visitor center operates on a generator and the visitor center remains open.
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins contributed to this report.
Kirsten Wisniewski May 16, 2025
