At least 2 people were killed as severe storms brought tornadoes and 100+ mph wind gusts to North Dakota and Minnesota Friday night.
Enderlin, nd – A line of severe storms brought tornadoes and 100+ mph wind gusts across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday night into Saturday morning, leaving a trail of damage and power outages.
One tornado struck an area about 3 miles east of Enderlin, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Forks. The NWS says it has received reports of fatalities in the tornado, but exact details have yet to be confirmed.
Another stovepipe tornado was observed near Eckelson. The supercell stayed north of Interstate 94, but some damage was reported by storm chasers.
In addition, the squall line brought wind gusts well over hurricane-force strength. The NWS says a personal weather station near Luverne, North Dakota clocked a gust of 111 mph around 12:45 a.m. Saturday.
Farther east as the storm crossed into Minnesota, the airport in Bemidji recorded a gust of 106 mph. An emergency manager there reported extensive damage from falling and uprooted trees on roofs and cars with people trapped.
“There is extensive damage around the Bemidji area and much of southern Beltrami County,” emergency managers wrote on Facebook. “Please do not travel unless it is an emergency. Many roads are blocked and there are a ton of power lines down. Unfortunately there is significant structure damage as well. We are responding to many gas leaks.”
Data from FindEnergy.com indicated that over 30,000 people lost power in North Dakota while another 57,000 were without electricity in Minnesota.
Updates to follow as more details become available.
