Three people killed in North Dakota after tornado hits upper midwest
Powerful winds – including a tornado – that swept across parts of the upper midwest left three people dead and a regional airport heavily damaged, while nearly 150 million Americans were under a heat advisory or warning as the weekend warmed up in much of the US.
A complex storm system wreaked havoc in parts of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with reported tornadic activity, large hail and strong wind gusts, according to Brian Hurley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center.
Cass county sheriff Jesse Jahner said at a news conference Saturday that two men and a woman were killed late Friday at two locations around the town of Enderlin, North Dakota, about 40 miles (60km) south-west of Fargo. Thousands of households lost power.
Hours earlier the National Weather Service in Grand Forks confirmed on social media that two deaths were attributed to a tornado that hit a home.
Timothy Lynch, lead forecaster with the NWS office in Grand Forks, said the storm was confirmed as a tornado but crews were still working to determine its strength and highest wind speeds. He said the storm impacted the neighboring counties of Cass and Ransom.
'We still have people out investigating and gathering information on what happened. It was a pretty major event,' Lynch told the Associated Press.
Governor Kelly Armstrong said in a statement that the NWS confirmed a second tornado touched down near Spiritwood, which is about 80 miles (130km) west of Fargo. Armstrong issued a statewide disaster declaration to respond to the damage.
Heavy winds also swept across localized areas of Minnesota, and the NWS reported wind gusts of up to 106mph (171km/h) at Bemidji regional airport overnight.
'I cannot ever recall hearing a rushing wind like that!' Bemidji mayor Jorge Prince posted on Facebook in the early hours of Saturday. 'Emerged from our basement to find our neighborhood with lots of trees down and several homes with severe damage.'
Prince also said officials were responding to many knocked down power lines and several gas line leaks. Localized torrential rain flooded the city's downtown and stalled vehicles, Beltrami county emergency management director Christopher Muller said.
Many Bemidji-area businesses posted on social media to say they were without power and closed for the day. Muller warned people to prepare for 'long-term power outages' because of damage to infrastructure.
Hurley said that same storm moved on in a weakened state to parts of Michigan. It was expected to cross over lower Ontario and back into the United States to hit upstate New York on Saturday night into Sunday.
'Still wind and hail threat,' Hurley said of the enhanced risk to upstate New York. 'It doesn't look like it's going to be as robust perhaps as we saw last night.'
Warm and dry conditions coupled with frequent thunderstorms and lightning have resulted in more than 100 fires in the state since Wednesday.
'A lot of those fires are in vast wilderness areas of Alaska where fire is allowed to take its natural course,' said Sam Harrel, an information officer with the state's Division of Forestry and Fire Protection.
But some fires were threatening populated areas, prompting evacuations in the interior region. Among them was a go order issued Friday for areas near Fairbanks, according to Harrel.
A fire burning about 30 miles (50km) north of the entrance to Denali national park and preserve also prompted an evacuation 'due to escalating fire conditions', the Denali Borough said via Facebook.
'Numerous structures are now imminently threatened so aircraft including Air Tankers and helicopters are supporting the fire with retardant and water drops,' the borough added.
Harrel said the fire was not affecting the status of the park but the smoke could worsen air quality for visitors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Reds' Elly De La Cruz and Mariners reliever Trent Thornton fall ill while playing in extreme heat
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Seattle Mariners reliever Trent Thornton got sick Saturday while playing in the extreme heat that covered much of the United States. De La Cruz vomited on the field with two outs in the fourth inning of Cincinnati 's extra-inning loss at the St. Louis Cardinals. He was checked on by a trainer, and two workers from the grounds crew cleaned up the area. The 23-year-old De La Cruz, who is from the Dominican Republic, stayed in the game and hit a two-run homer in the seventh. Thornton pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for Seattle before departing in the eighth in a 10-7 loss at the Chicago Cubs. The 31-year-old right-hander had to be helped from the field. Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Thornton had 'a little bit of a heat-related illness.' 'It was a scary moment, for sure,' Wilson said. 'He battled hard. But just really glad that he's feeling a little bit better now and should be OK.' The gametime temperature for Reds at Cardinals was 92 degrees, and it was 94 for the first pitch of the Mariners' loss to the Cubs. Milwaukee's game at Minnesota was played under an excessive heat warning. Seattle and Chicago finished their game with three umpires after Chad Whitson got sick. Dexter Kelley moved from second base to home plate. Whitson was treated in the Mariners' dugout. 'He came in, same kind of thing. Just was not feeling well,' Wilson said. 'Threw up a few times in the dugout and then they came and took care of him from there. The heat was a real thing today, for sure.' Whitson was dealing with some dehydration, but a Major League Baseball spokesman said he was doing better Saturday night and had been cleared to work third base for the series finale. A Wrigley Field staffer had a heat-related medical issue right after Saturday's game, according to a spokesman for the Cubs. He was tended to by medical personnel and walked off the field on his own. The Cubs set up cooling and misting stations throughout Wrigley to help fans with the heat on Saturday, along with additional emergency personnel. The team had similar plans in place for Sunday, along with bringing in a city bus to use as a cooling station on the street. ___
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Cooler weather forecast after UK sees hottest day of the year
Sunday is expected to see 'cooler' and 'fresher' weather after the UK recorded the hottest day of the year, with a provisional high of more than 33C measured in Surrey. On Saturday, provisional temperatures recorded included 33.2C in Charlwood, Surrey, 26.9C in Bute Park in Cardiff and 27.2C in Aviemore in the Highlands. However, Sunday is expected to be a day of 'sunny spells and showers' with highs of around 27C and 28C, Met Office weather forecaster Dan Stroud said. Conditions are expected to feel 'a lot fresher' in the west of the country whilst remaining 'very warm and humid' in the east, he added. 'For the vast majority of the country, the temperature is going to be much, much closer to the mid, late June average. 'As we move our way through Sunday night into Monday, it's going to feel a lot fresher for us all, a lot more comfortable sleeping conditions.' This comes after a yellow warning for thunderstorms, covering parts of south-east Scotland, Yorkshire, the Midlands and Wales was issued by the Met Office from 5pm on Saturday until 3am on Sunday. Up to 40mm of rain could fall in less than two hours, the forecaster said, as it urged those in the warning areas, which includes Manchester, Derbyshire and Newcastle upon Tyne, to consider whether their location is at risk of flash flooding and to prepare accordingly. Overnight on Saturday, 'a lot cooler' and 'a lot fresher' conditions are forecast, with the exception of the east of England, including London and the South East, which could experience a 'tropical night', Mr Stroud said. 'In one or two spots that could potentially be a tropical night, which is where the overnight minimums actually fail to drop below 20 degrees,' he added. 'We haven't had any of those yet.' On Friday night, Somerset came 'very close' to recording a tropical night as temperatures dropped to a minimum of 19.7C, the forecaster said. An official heatwave is recorded when areas reach a certain temperature for three consecutive days, with thresholds varying from 25C to 28C in different parts of the UK. 'Many places' in England and 'one or two areas' in Wales, including Cardiff, entered a heatwave following Friday's highest temperatures, the Met Office previously said. An amber heat-health alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for the first time since September 2023, for all regions in England remains in place over the weekend. The agency has warned that significant impacts are likely across health and social care services, including an increase in demand, during the alert period. Temperatures reached 32.2C in Kew, west London, on Thursday while Friday saw highs of 30.8C recorded in both England and Wales. Ireland's hottest temperature for almost three years of 29.6C was recorded on Friday in Mount Dillon, Co Roscommon, Irish forecaster Met Eireann said. Pharmacies have advised their patients to store medicines safely as the heat-health alert continues, adding that most medicines kept at room temperature should be stored in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and hot areas, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said. Warmer temperatures may lead to some medicine losing its effectiveness or unwanted side effects, the NPC added. The hot weather comes as thousands of people watched the sunrise over Stonehenge in Wiltshire to celebrate the summer solstice on Saturday, marking the year's longest day.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Three people killed in North Dakota after tornado hits upper midwest
Powerful winds – including a tornado – that swept across parts of the upper midwest left three people dead and a regional airport heavily damaged, while nearly 150 million Americans were under a heat advisory or warning as the weekend warmed up in much of the US. A complex storm system wreaked havoc in parts of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with reported tornadic activity, large hail and strong wind gusts, according to Brian Hurley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. Cass county sheriff Jesse Jahner said at a news conference Saturday that two men and a woman were killed late Friday at two locations around the town of Enderlin, North Dakota, about 40 miles (60km) south-west of Fargo. Thousands of households lost power. Hours earlier the National Weather Service in Grand Forks confirmed on social media that two deaths were attributed to a tornado that hit a home. Timothy Lynch, lead forecaster with the NWS office in Grand Forks, said the storm was confirmed as a tornado but crews were still working to determine its strength and highest wind speeds. He said the storm impacted the neighboring counties of Cass and Ransom. 'We still have people out investigating and gathering information on what happened. It was a pretty major event,' Lynch told the Associated Press. Governor Kelly Armstrong said in a statement that the NWS confirmed a second tornado touched down near Spiritwood, which is about 80 miles (130km) west of Fargo. Armstrong issued a statewide disaster declaration to respond to the damage. Heavy winds also swept across localized areas of Minnesota, and the NWS reported wind gusts of up to 106mph (171km/h) at Bemidji regional airport overnight. 'I cannot ever recall hearing a rushing wind like that!' Bemidji mayor Jorge Prince posted on Facebook in the early hours of Saturday. 'Emerged from our basement to find our neighborhood with lots of trees down and several homes with severe damage.' Prince also said officials were responding to many knocked down power lines and several gas line leaks. Localized torrential rain flooded the city's downtown and stalled vehicles, Beltrami county emergency management director Christopher Muller said. Many Bemidji-area businesses posted on social media to say they were without power and closed for the day. Muller warned people to prepare for 'long-term power outages' because of damage to infrastructure. Hurley said that same storm moved on in a weakened state to parts of Michigan. It was expected to cross over lower Ontario and back into the United States to hit upstate New York on Saturday night into Sunday. 'Still wind and hail threat,' Hurley said of the enhanced risk to upstate New York. 'It doesn't look like it's going to be as robust perhaps as we saw last night.' Warm and dry conditions coupled with frequent thunderstorms and lightning have resulted in more than 100 fires in the state since Wednesday. 'A lot of those fires are in vast wilderness areas of Alaska where fire is allowed to take its natural course,' said Sam Harrel, an information officer with the state's Division of Forestry and Fire Protection. But some fires were threatening populated areas, prompting evacuations in the interior region. Among them was a go order issued Friday for areas near Fairbanks, according to Harrel. A fire burning about 30 miles (50km) north of the entrance to Denali national park and preserve also prompted an evacuation 'due to escalating fire conditions', the Denali Borough said via Facebook. 'Numerous structures are now imminently threatened so aircraft including Air Tankers and helicopters are supporting the fire with retardant and water drops,' the borough added. Harrel said the fire was not affecting the status of the park but the smoke could worsen air quality for visitors.
