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Strong storms spawned several tornadoes
that touched down in southeast North Dakota and western Minnesota,
including one that appeared to have struck a farm house. No
injuries appear to have been reported.
      

A video shot by a storm chaser showed a tornado touching down
near a farm house in Wilkin County, Minn., and debris flying into
the air as the funnel tore into the building.


      The home destroyed in the video was near the tiny community of
Campbell, Minn., according to a dispatcher with the Wilkin County
Sheriff. But the owner, Al Kosel, 76, and his family weren't home,
and there were no injuries, she said.


      The storms started in North Dakota and moved east into
Minnesota, said Tom Grafenauer, a meteorologist with the National
Weather Service office in Grand Forks. Touchdowns were reported
between about 6:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. near Tyler, N.D.; Tenney, Minn.;
and Fergus Falls, Minn.


      "Most of this action was in Minnesota," Grafenauer said.


      One tornado appeared to be on the ground for 20 or 30 minutes,
he said.


      Dave Langenwalter told KVLY-TV in Fargo that he and his son had
just gone into their basement when a tornado touched down just
yards from their house near Tyler, N.D. The outbuildings were
flattened and his garage was gone, he said. His car apparently was
picked up and dropped several yards away. Langenwalter found it
behind a nearby grove of trees.


      Richland County Chief Deputy Gary Ruhl told the television
station that "at any given time" there were four funnel clouds in
his county in the state's far southeast corner.


      One tornado "came from the southwest, came through this
farmstead and leveled everything off. It crossed the river into
Wilkin County (Minnesota) and also destroyed a farmstead over
there," Ruhl told KVLY-TV.


      It wasn't clear Sunday morning exactly how many separate
tornadoes touched down or what the extent of the damage was. A
National Weather Service storm survey team was in the area
assessing the damage and trying to determine exactly what happened,
Grafenauer said.

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Weather and Climate News

Strong storms spawned several tornadoes
that touched down in southeast North Dakota and western Minnesota,
including one that appeared to have struck a farm house. No
injuries appear to have been reported.

Storms spawn tornadoes in North Dakota, Minnesota

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