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WILLMAR — There were multiple reports of storm damage caused by nearly three days of stormy weather across west central and southern Minnesota over the Memorial Day weekend. This included reports of tornadoes.
Around 3:30 p.m. Monday there were unconfirmed reports of a tornado near the cities of Appleton and Milan in Chippewa County. One report from the National Weather Service said the tornado hit a farm about three miles north of Milan. The family was able to take shelter.
There was also reports from a storm spotter around 4:10 p.m. Monday of a rain-wrapped tornado on the ground about three miles west of Starbuck in Pope County. Tree damage, a pickup truck towing a trailer rolling and damage to a camper were all reported near Starbuck, according to a NWS report.
There were also social media reports of heavy rain and hail around the Appleton and Milan areas.
High wind gusts were reported all over the area on Monday, starting with an 84 mph gust at around 3:55 a.m. in Olivia. A grain bin was blown onto U.S. Highway 212 early Monday about 1 mile east-northeast of Sacred Heart in Renville County.
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Monday afternoon a wind gust of 65 mph was reported at 3:20 p.m. about 3 miles west-southwest of Graceville in Big Stone County; a gust of 67 mph was reported at 4:05 p.m at the Benson Airport in Swift County; and a wind gust of 63 mph was reported at 3:25 p.m. at the Madison Airport in Lac qui Parle County.
NWS collected storm reports from Belgrade reporting trees down and power out around 4:19 a.m. Monday.
There was tornado damage reported to NWS in Forada and Maples Lake in Douglas County, southwest of Alexandria.
The storms also caused several communities to either move their Memorial Day events indoors or canceled them outright.
Earlier Saturday, Furniture Plus in Willmar found half of its roof peeled up Sunday morning, believed to have been caused by a quick burst of wind during a storm around 8 a.m.
