Officials report minor damage following Saturday storm

By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- With winds clocked at approximately 82 miles per hour, a fierce storm blew across the region Saturday night, as residents scrambled for safety.

The storm, which began at approximately 5 p.m. Saturday in Stearns County, near St. Cloud, reached the northern fringe of Nicollet County, where it collided with a front that moved in from Cottonwood County earlier in the afternoon.

A caller near Fort Ridgely notified the Nicollet County Sheriff that a tornado had been spotted at approximately 6:30 p.m., sending Brown County officials in all directions to follow the approaching storm.

The tornado sirens sounded out across New Ulm at 6:45 p.m. as the storm approached the river at over 60 miles per hour, turning the sky an ominous shade of green.

At approximately 7 p.m., the National Weather Service in Chanhassen issued a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch for Brown County, as Nicollet and Blue earth Counties remained under a tornado warning for approximately an hour.

Before leaving the region, the storm dropped over an inch of rain in most locations.

Sleepy Eye Police Department officials reported that there had been a brief power outage during the storm and lots of tree branches, but no major damage.

Fort Ridgely officials reported that one of the emcampment tents was damaged and several of the people reported some water damaged goods, but there was no major damage.

In greater Brown County, there was a tree reported down on Highway 4 north of Sleepy Eye around 6:50 p.m. that blocked traffic for almost half an hour and a tree was reported down near Highland Gardens.

In New Ulm, there was a tree reported down on Broadway and a tree that had hit power lines, but no other damage was reported.