3 tornadoes confirmed in the metro Thursday as part of severe storms
Three tornadoes have been confirmed in the metro as part of the severe storms on Thursday.
The National Weather Service said the first one was north of Andover in the city of Oak Grove. Another tornado, which the NWS classified as an EF1, was confirmed southeast of Isanti in Isanti County.
The third was an EF0 confirmed in Dakota County in Ravenna Township.
NWS says they are still working to determine the path length and timing of all three tornadoes.
Meteorologists with the NWS have been out assessing the extent of Thursday’s storms all day Friday. Officials say the worst of the damage seems to be concentrated around Andover, Oak Grove, East Bethel and on the east side of Isanti Township.
It was a busy day of cleanup for Frank Bryant after the powerful storm blew through.
“Those trees were all that tall, nice, big, tall trees, and just wiped them out, just like that, just a brief moment — poof, gone,” said Bryant.
Bryant was thankful the damage to his property wasn’t as severe as the hit to his neighbor across the street.
“I turned around and watched that building across the road explode,” Bryant said. “It just, it came across… all the debris went into my pond, come flying the roof, all that stuff. And then it hit my trees, and then they lifted up just by the fire station, just up and gone.”
Dan Hawblitzel, a meteorologist with NWS Twin Cities, said it was a “pretty narrow damage path.”
“We haven’t seen any reports of injuries, no reports of major structural damage so far, mainly a lot of tree damage,” Hawblitzel added.
Arnold Clemensen and Jake Benson with Leaning Trees Tree Service were about a mile south of Isanti Township when the storm hit.
“It was crazy. All the trees were laying almost flat to the ground, came right over the top of us,” said Clemensen. “He got a warning on his phone and said a tornado warning. So I go, ‘Wow. We better get the stuff inside.’ We were just working at the shop. It took about three minutes, and all hell broke loose. It just started pouring.”
“He ran towards the house with the dog. Next thing I know, I tried to push my way out of the pole barn and I couldn’t even push the door open. It threw me back. So I tucked underneath the big truck, our work truck, sat there and watched,” added Benson. “It was the most scared I’ve been in a storm for sure.”
The city of Cottage Grove declared a state of emergency after the most recent round of storms hit on Thursday.
Thousands of Xcel Energy customers are still without power as crews are continuing to provide repairs Friday.
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