Tornado kills 1 in N.D.; new storms head for Minnesota

North Dakota Governor John Hoeven visited the ravaged town of Northwood this morning to survey the destruction left behind by a twister that hit the community in the eastern part of that state Sunday evening.

Hoeven's visit comes as the community of 950 people 35 miles southeast of Grand Forks begins to clean up from the powerful tornado that downed power lines, ripped rooftops off buildings, blasted out windows and uprooted trees as it blew through the center of town with winds in excess of 138 miles per hour and perhaps as high as 199 mph, the National Weather Service in Grand Forks said.

The governor declared an emergency declaration and activated the National Guard to help in the clean-up efforts and keep sightseers away.

"It's a real mess," said Kevin Dean, a spokesman at the emergency command center set up at the town's fire hall. "Right now the real concern is for public safety and to get the debris cleaned up and the lines that are down back up."

A steady rain fell in Northwood, N.D. Monday morning, but no severe weather was reported. More volatile weather is expected today across far eastern North Dakota and central and southern Minnesota as an advancing cold front is expected to trigger another round of storms, the National Weather Service said.

A slight risk of severe weather has been posted for this afternoon for much of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities area, with storms most likely after 4 p.m. the National Weather Service said.

Sunday's storms dropped heavy rain and dime- to golfball-size hail and spun up at least four tornados in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. A twister damaged two pole barns 8 miles north of Climax, Minn. at 10:05 p.m. An earlier tornado caused tree damage 1 mile south of Florian, Minn. in Marshall County. A tornado touched down briefly at 7:45 p.m. in Drayton, N.D. but did not cause any damage, the Weather Service said.

That was not true in Northwood where the spiral windstorm whipped through town at 8:52 p.m. causing significant damage to a nursing home, grocery store, the city's fire hall, school and to Agvise Laboratories, a company which conducts soil testing and plant analysis and is one of the town's largest employers, Dean said.

One person in the Valley View mobile home park died and other trailers in the park were completely destroyed, Dean said.

Authorities identified the victim as Larry Weisz, 57, of Northwood. Eighteen other people in Northwood were injured, Dean said.

Roofs were blown off several houses and two rail cars were blown off the tracks. Authorities cut off electricity to the town as a precaution due to the numerous power lines and trees that remained down. Several structures remain unstable, Dean said.

The Grand Forks County Emergency Management asked Northwood residents to conserve water until further notice as the storms "had seriously impacted the local water supply."

Authorities have limited access to the town and residents who left last night or were away are being escorted in and out of the town. The main road into town is blocked off to keep sightseers away, Dean said.

Heavy equipment from Grand Forks and other neighboring communities have been brought in to clear away debris and scores of volunteers have descended on the town to help clean up the mess.

"A mass outpouring of help is coming from individuals and organizations; it's the true spirit of neighbor helping neighbor," Dean said. "It's hard to accept all the offers because we don't have a staging area for all the volunteers."

Operations were continuing Monday at the Deaconess Health Center in Northwood despite damage to the facility which includes a 12-bed hospital and a 77-bed nursing home.

"We had damage to the roof, mainly in the nursing home part of the building," said spokesman Chad Peterson. "A few resident rooms won't be able to be occupied, but otherwise we're doing fine."

No injuries were reported at the nursing home, but a few residents might have to be moved to homes in neighboring communities until repairs can be made, he said.

Classes at the Northwood school were cancelled Monday because of damage to the building's gymnasium roof and common areas. A high school cross country meet was postponed.

The storms also marched across Minnesota over night and caused high winds and rain in the Twin Cities. A few thousand people were without power earlier today, but by 9:45 a.m. no widespread electricity outages were reported, Xcel Energy said.

The early morning rains caused some flooding at the State Fair as plugged drains caused water back up. Crews cleared debris from drains and things were back to normal when the gates opened at 6 a.m.

"We are doing great. We're in business," said Brienna Scheutte, a State Fair spokeswoman.

Tim Harlow • harlow@startribune.com