The Detroit Lakes area received 1.75 inches of rain in the thunderstorm that swept through the region last night, according to a weather station maintained by KDLM Radio in Detroit Lakes.
There were isolated instances of street flooding considered normal with that much rainfall, but no reports of washouts or serious damage in Detroit Lakes and throughout Becker County, according to the police and sheriff’s departments.
Several structure fires were reported, but it’s not clear if they were caused by lightning or related to the storm.
Otter Tail County got hit harder, with large hail and dangerous winds reported. New York Mills appeared to be one of the hardest hit areas.
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, N.D., issued tornado warnings for western Minnesota and southeastern North Dakota early this morning after spotting strong rotation within the storms that buffeted the region.
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The Becker County CodeRED instant alert system advised people to be on the lookout for flash flooding.
Meteorologist Brad Hopkins said the biggest action appeared to be in the New York Mills area in Otter Tail County, where wind gusts at the Staples Municipal Airport reached 79 miles per hour.
Golf-ball size and even larger hailstones fell in New York Mills, said Hopkins, with one report of hailstones of 2¾ inches coming in just north of that city.
A motorist on Highway 210 near Battle Lake reported that the pickup truck she was driving was blown off the road, apparently due to strong cross winds, according to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office. There was no damage to the pickup or apparent injuries to the driver, whose name was not released.
Several power lines and trees were knocked down by the storm, causing some power outages and road blockages, as well as some crop damage.
There were reports of hail and wind damage to homes, buildings and vehicles, especially in the northeastern corner of Otter Tail County.
Observers reported quarter- to golf ball-sized hail, strong winds and heavy rain during the storm.
Sabin, Minn., reported 2.13-inch hailstones, and 1-inch hailstones were reported in Kindred, N.D.
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Rural residents 6 miles north of Leonard, N.D., are reporting trees down, said Hopkins, and reports of more downed trees and branches are starting to trickle in to the weather service office.
Initial radar reports are showing up to 3 inches of rain in some parts of the region.
So far, however, no tornado sightings have been verified.
“It’s still pretty early yet… we’re still trying to collection information,” he said.
(Forum newspaper staff contributed to this story)
