Tornadoes touch down a day after northwest Minnesota hit with hurricane-force winds

BEMIDJI - Just a day after devastating straight-line winds caused a state of emergency, another tornado warning blanketed much of northwest Minnesota on Sunday night.

Tornadoes touched down around 7 p.m. near the small town of Grygla, 40 miles east of Thief River Falls. Tornadoes were also spotted in northern Beltrami County, which had declared a state of emergency in the aftermath of a storm that was the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane. Around 27,000 were without power Saturday, and more than 6,500 were still without it Monday, according to outage maps for Otter Tail Power and Beltrami Electric.

No injuries or structural damage were reported with the tornadoes Sunday, said Tim Kaiser, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks.

“It was just open field, bog touchdowns,” Kaiser said Monday.

Beltrami County Emergency Management shared an update Sunday on Facebook: “UGH.. TORNADO WATCH,” which spoke to the disbelief and exhaustion of back-to-back days of severe weather in the region.

The NWS quickly upgraded the watch to a tornado warning for Grygla and the northwest corner of Beltrami.

“It’s hard to adjust to after not having that type of weather for much of the year, and then when summer flips the switch, we get the potential for those significant severe storms,” Kaiser said.

The Salvation Army set up a disaster response center at the Sanford Center in Bemidji and was sending mobile food vehicles to support workers, residents and volunteers.

A homeless shelter, Peoples Church, remained closed for major renovations, but a 26-bed shelter, the Wolfe Center, was housing people overnight. Reed Olson, who oversees the Wolfe Center, said everyone they serve was accounted for and safe.

“I’m just really thankful that nobody was injured, which I think is a minor miracle,” he said.

Olson has been shuttling people from the shelter to the Sanford Center for supplies while clearing debris from his home that was without power. But, he said, “I’m amazed at the progress they are making, so much of Bemidji already has power.”

In every Bemidji neighborhood, the buzz of chain saws echoed. Stacks of wood lined driveways and sidewalks. At coffee shops, grocery stores and restaurants, the chatter was all about the storm.

Stands of trees are gone across the region, most strikingly in all the parks surrounding Lake Bemidji. Thousands of trees lay in fields and neighborhoods pointing east — a sign of straight-line winds that Kaiser said can be more destructive than a tornado.

“That footprint of damage is typically wider than when a tornado does move through,” he said.

A team of seven Salvation Army disaster workers descended on Bemidji from Alexandria, Brainerd, Duluth and International Falls to assist in the aftermath of the disaster.

Dorothy Maples, Twin Cities director of Emergency Disaster Services for the Salvation Army, said they were serving 300 meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Maples said meal preparation and delivery could carry out for the next week, depending on the need.

“But we have people out roving, which means just taking a vehicle out and trying to get food in different locations, and at that point, trying to get as much information out as possible,” Maples said. “Unfortunately, we become so reliant on our cellphones and internet. Once we can’t do that, then where do you go?”

The telecommunications company Midco had crews working Monday to repair damage and restore service to the region.

Sanford Center will remain the go-to spot for emergency resources from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. It was sheltering about 60 people overnight, and others have been provided a place to stay in hotels.

A family of six was at the Sanford Center on Monday looking for help after they were displaced by the storm. Another woman said she was displaced because of the heat and staying with a friend who had no air conditioning but at least had electricity to operate fans.

Emergency Management said the Bemidji post office was closed with limited delivery. It added that the landfill was seeing unprecedented congestion and urged patience. City curbside pickup started Monday.

He said residents need to be prepared at home or on vacation.

“Lots of people at the lakes and cabins have to have a way to receive that weather information,” he said. “Mother Nature did remind us what it can do now. So it’s imperative going forward to have a way to receive your warnings. Have a plan. Have a shelter available.”