Severe thunderstorms bring rain, wind damage to west-central Minnesota

WILLLMAR

— Thunderstorms Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning brought some needed rain — but also some damaging wind gusts — to west central Minnesota.

Storm reports to the National Weather Service of wind gusts and hail showed a path from the eastern Dakotas to western Minnesota.

Wind damage was reported in the communities of

New London

,

Brooten

and

Belgrade

.

Belgrade recorded wind gusts of 75 mph, according to a report made to the National Weather Service; Brooten firefighters reported gusts between 50 mph and 60 mph five miles south of Brooten. Remarks of a shed destroyed, power poles being snapped in half and pontoons flipped over were made in New London, where 68-mph winds were reported, according to the storm reports compiled by the weather service.

A tree was down on a power line near Clontarf, and a tree was down on the road near Sedan.

According to the National Weather Service, the city of Glenwood got about an inch of rain from the storms, as well as quarter-sized hail damage.

Willmar residents were without power for a brief period of time overnight.

The Kandiyohi Power Cooperative page on Facebook showed photos of broken poles, downed lines and toppled trees that their crews are addressing in their territory. The post also said that an outside contractor was coming to assist with storm restoration.

A news release from the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office reports damage assessments are currently taking place in Brooten, Belgrade and surrounding townships. The Sheriff’s Office asked the public to be aware of hazards and workers in the area as the damage assessments and cleanup take place.