High winds trash cars at Minn. dealership

A burst of strong winds has damaged dozens of vehicles at a south-central Minnesota car dealership.

Winds and heavy rain ripped through Kohls-Weelborg Chevrolet in New Ulm around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

General manager Doug Schablin says the storm hit without warning. He says the rain and wind "turned everything white."

Within 20-30 seconds, Schablin says it was over. He says the wind blew out the windows of 70 vehicles and bent flagpoles at the dealership to the ground.

The National Weather Service says winds at the airport were clocked at 75 mph.

A Brown County sheriff's dispatcher says trees and signs are down in New Ulm, but no injuries are reported.

Much of central and northern Minnesota and parts of southern Minnesota are under flash flood watches until Thursday.

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