Spring storm

sweeps

through area

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Dark, ominous skies, heavy winds and tornado sirens announced the official arrival of spring Sunday evening as severe weather hit many parts of the state and local area.

The National Weather Service issued tornado watches and warnings for Blue Earth, Brown, Redwood and Watonwan counties and severe thunderstorm warnings for Nicollet and Sibley counties Sunday night.

The storms caused high winds and hail in western Brown County and eastern Redwood County, but little severe damage was reported.

The weather also made an impact on the northwest corner of the Twin Cities metro area, following a nearly straight line on Doppler radar up from South Dakota through southwest Minnesota northeast to the metro area, forcing cancelled flights at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Weather spotters reported a large tornado 4 miles southwest of Sanborn shortly after 6 p.m. A heavily-rotating cloud was reported south of Sleepy Eye, moving at 40 miles per hour. Another cloud was found over Springfield and was moving at 60-70 miles an hour. A funnel cloud was also reported near Hanska.

Earlier in the day, high winds rattled traffic signs and blew dust from farm fields into the air. Skies began to darken around 5 p.m., and weather warnings were issued nearly an hour later. The tornado watches expired at 7:35 p.m., but tornado warnings remained in effect for most of the area until midnight.

The heaviest weather stayed away from New Ulm and was reported mostly in western Brown County. Rain continued throughout the area after the worst weather died off and lighting later struck a mobile home trailer in New Ulm, but damage was relatively light.

Brad Sellner, a NWS weather observer in Sleepy Eye, said the city didn't see much of the serious weather. He said heavy rain and pea-sized hail fell and tornado sirens sounded, but there wasn't much damage to speak of after the weather quieted down.

However, Sellner said he heard a thin roar that seemed to come from the west and southwest area outside Sleepy Eye while he was waiting in the basement of his house. He said the sound reminded him of the tornado that hit Comfrey in 1998.

"It didn't sound like there was any damage," Sellner said. "There was some wind, but there was no appreciable damage."

Sellner said the heaviest wind gust actually came through Sleepy Eye Sunday afternoon.

Brown County Board Chair Donald Wellner, who lives on a cattle farm near Sanborn, said his area, which is 8 miles southeast of the city, saw nothing more severe than strong winds and rain.

"It gets dark and windy and it just kinda makes you wonder, I guess," Wellner said.