West St. Paul picks up after weak twister
Power is still out for dozens of people in West St. Paul after rare November tornadoes swept through the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities.
The storm happened late Saturday night. The National Weather Service said one tornado touched down in Burnsville, mostly between interstates 35W and 35E. Another area in West St. Paul suffered additional damage as the storm moved northeast.
"We had a lot of trees down. A car got crushed, and there was some pretty significant roof damage to one house, but by and large, it was mostly trees down in roads," said John Zanmiller, mayor of West St. Paul. "It took a few hours for the streets to get opened back up, and it took several hours for NSP to restore power."
The National Weather Service said it believes the two EF-0 tornado touchdowns were spawned by the unusually warm weather on Saturday. The Weather service says it has only recorded one November tornado since official records started in 1950. That storm was on Nov. 1, 2000.
In Burnsville, the worst damage occurred near Nicollet Junior High, with winds around 80 mph. Another tornado touched down just east of the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport.
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