Nearly 12,000 We Energies customers across the utility's service area in eastern and central Wisconsin were without power late Monday night after a line of fast moving storms moved through the region.

As of 10:15 p.m., a total of 11,743 We Energies customers were without power, down from just over 12,000 earlier in the night.

The National Weather Service reported a 69 mph wind gust at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport at 9:26 p.m.

Blame the lower levels of the atmosphere for this one, said J.J. Wood, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Sullivan.

Strong winds were howling about a mile or so up in the atmosphere for a good chunk of the afternoon. When the rain and storms moved through, they brought those winds down to the surface.

The storms kept emergency crews busy. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

In Germantown in Washington County, the fire department responded to two calls that occurred within minutes of each other around 9:15 p.m. of power lines down in the village.

In Waukesha County, there were multiple reports of tree damage in Brookfield and New Berlin, according to the weather service.

In Sheboygan County, 3-inch diameter tree limbs were reported down and power poles were reportedly snapped 2 miles west of the city of Sheboygan, according to the weather service.

In Brown County, a tree reportedly fell on a house in the Village of Howard, which is just west of Green Bay.

In the Town of Cicero in Outagamie County, the weather service reported that six power poles were snapped and wires were down as the storms moved through that area of the state.

Other counties reporting damage included Winnebago, Waupaca, Portage and Wood.

In Marathon County, a semi truck was tipped on its side on I-39 near Mosinee, according to the weather service office in Green Bay.

Contact Joe Taschler at (414) 224-2554 or jtaschler@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeTaschler or Facebook at facebook.com/joe.taschler.1.