39 Minnesota Tornadoes Set Single-Day Record

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Department of Public Safety recorded 39 tornadoes, 26 funnel clouds, 11 reports of damage from thunderstorm winds and 69 reports of hail in Thursday’s storms.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty called the 39 tornadoes counted by state officials "unprecedented.” The governor toured some of the hardest hit areas Friday afternoon as the National Weather Service worked to confirm the tornadoes reported by local agencies.

Wadena, Minn. to the northwest of the Twin Cities and Albert Lea to the far south were among the hardest hit. A woman was killed when a tornado hit her home west of Albert Lea, and Wadena was shut down to outsiders as local officials and the National Guard planned the recovery process.

If those 39 tornadoes are confirmed by the National Weather Service, it would set a new state record for tornadoes in a single day. The previous state record for tornadoes in a single day was 27 in 1992.

Three people died as a result of the Minnesota tornadoes:

• Kathy Woodside, 66, died when her small farmhouse and barn were destroyed in Thursday night's storm, west of Albert Lea. Woodside's house in a rural area west of the city had no basement.
   
• Margie Schulke, 79, died when her home in Almora, Minn. was destroyed by a tornado.
   
• In Mentor, Minn., about 50 miles southeast of Grand Forks, N.D., the owner of a Cenex station was killed when a tornado struck his store. Wes Michaels' daughter told the Star Tribune her father was not supposed to work on Thursday, his 58th birthday, but that he went in to check on her because of the storm warnings. She said he ordered her and several customers into the store cooler as the tornado bore down.

National Weather Service Map | June 17 Storms




Wadena, MN

Wadena, Minnesota is restricted to residents only as work begins to cleanup after a tornado ripped the small town Thursday evening. Friday, the city said 232 homes in the town of 4,000 have been severely damaged or destroyed by the tornado.

Police and National Guard soldiers bloc access to Wadena – anyone needing to get into the quarter-mile wide disaster area must have a permit and be escorted. No volunteers are being allowed into Wadena at this time.

Wadena Mayor Wayne Wolden said thankfully no one was killed in that tornado, but blocks of homes were destroyed, the high school was severely damaged and the community center is “beyond repair.”

34 people were admitted to the local emergency room for storm-related injuries, with only one person still hospitalized late Friday morning.

The National Guard’s initial damage reports from Wadena include:

• More than 200 homes damaged or destroyed.
• High School has severe damage.
• Minnesota State Community college has significant damage.
• Wadena Community Center destroyed.
• Pool structure destroyed.
• City skating rink warming house destroyed.
• One city park shelter destroyed.
• Leaf River Ag business destroyed.
• One apartment complex severely damaged.
• More than 60 vehicles totaled.

More: Wadena, MN Restricted to Residents After Tornado

Kiester, MN

Some witnesses report seeing upward of three funnel clouds on the ground near Kiester in short succession. Fortunately, there are no confirmed reports of serious injuries in the area, but Friday morning brings a massive cleanup and rebuilding effort.

“The first probably three hours I got here, I couldn’t stand up,” tornado victim Shelly Zeller said. “Now I say, ‘You know what, no one was hurt, what can you do?’ There is nothing you can do. It’s weather. You can’t predict it. Welcome to farming and welcome to living in southern Minnesota. You do what you can.”

One of the funnel clouds, captured on video near Hollandale (northeast of Albert Lea) bounced up and down, touching ground several times and leaving plenty of damage in its wake, from Kiester all the way up toward Geneva and Blooming Prairie.

Rock Creek, MN

A tornado moved through three counties along Interstate 35 -- Chisago County, Pine County and Burnett County (Wis.). Much of the damage from that tornado was concentrated in Rock Creek, Minn, where a mobile home and a garage were destroyed.

Two people were hospitalized from that storm.

39 Minnesota Tornadoes Set Single-Day Record | Originally reported by MyFoxTwinCities.com