Three children died after a recreational boat capsized during a powerful storm on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin, as severe weather and a heat wave disrupted July Fourth celebrations across the United States, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity.
Authorities said all four children aboard the boat were wearing life jackets when the privately owned motorboat overturned on Friday during a sudden storm in Walworth County, a popular holiday destination for visitors from the Chicago area.
Officials said the boat, carrying 10 people including four children, tried to reach safety before being hit by strong winds and large waves. The vessel took on water, capsized and sank.
Six adults and one child were rescued, but three children were later pulled from the lake after an extensive search. Despite immediate life-saving efforts, they could not be revived, police said.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency are investigating the incident.
In a statement, Lake Geneva police said the tragedy was caused by a "sudden and severe storm" that quickly created dangerous conditions on the lake.
Following the storm, Lake Geneva Mayor Todd Krause declared a local emergency. One person suffered minor injuries after being struck by a falling tree, while fallen trees and downed power lines blocked several roads.
The Wisconsin tragedy came as severe storms swept across parts of the Midwest and Northeast, knocking down trees, damaging power lines and disrupting transportation.
A similar storm that hit the New York area late Friday left hundreds of thousands of utility customers without power, canceled train services to New Jersey and damaged or uprooted thousands of trees.
At the peak of the outages, nearly one million customers across several states lost electricity. By midday Saturday, about 750,000 customers in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and New Jersey were still without power.
The severe weather also forced several cities to cancel Independence Day events and postpone fireworks displays.
In Belleville, New Jersey, Mayor Frank Velez announced that the city's fireworks celebration would be postponed until next year, saying public safety remained the top priority.
Meanwhile, parts of the Northeast continued to experience intense heat on Friday, with temperatures climbing close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit before storms brought cooler conditions expected to continue into the new week.