Posted 6/22/01
Storms leave damage and death in their paths
By MaryHelen Swanson
In East Central Minnesota, if itís Monday, thereís bound to be a storm. At least it seems that way this summer. Broken windows, lots of broken windows, shredded leaves, uprooted trees and debris strewn all over told the story of the fast-paced storm that hit Rush City Monday morning. Hail, described as ìmarbleî to ìorangeî-sized fell viciously making green confetti out of tree leaves and, according to City Administrator Daniel Hoffman, left lawns looking like a herd of deer ran through them. Power went out in some areas when trees fell over East Central Energy lines. In the downtown area of Rush City many cars were left pocked with hail damage. Hoffman stored hail stones in his freezer measuring 2.5 inches, he said.
No injuries were reported, but damage to homes was extensive, especially windows and vinyl siding on the west and sometimes north sides of buildings. Rush City did, however, escape the wrath of the Monday night storm that fostered deadly tornados in Siren, WI. That storm cell began just west of the city of Braham in Isanti County and took off rapidly on a near-straight path eastward.
Again, no injuries were reported on the Minnesota side, but folks in Wisconsin were not as lucky. Besides the three reported deaths, at least eight persons were taken to local hospitals for treatment.
Because there has been such a prevalence of storms this year, it might be a good thing to review with your family members the procedures for taking shelter.