The National Weather Service predicts damaging winds to be the biggest threat from storms in central Wisconsin this evening.

There were substantial showers and storms in the central Wisconsin area at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, but they were not expected to be severe, said Roy Eckberg, meteorologist from the National Weather Service. Forecasters were keeping an eye on a cluster of storms that were in Iowa early Tuesday afternoon.

“They’re going to race into Wisconsin this afternoon,” Eckberg said.

The storms should hit the central Wisconsin area between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday, Eckberg said. The greatest risk of severe weather will be damaging winds that could cause damage to trees and power lines, he said. People should be prepared for power outages, he said.

Eckberg said they can’t rule out an isolated tornado or large hail, but the damaging winds will be the primary threat.

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Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Tuesday storms will bring damaging winds, power outages to central Wisconsin