Weather service: At least 3 tornadoes hit Minnesota

Severe Weather-Minnesota
Kevin Blank, right, walks to his mother's back door after one of multiple tornadoes touched down in the region on Wednesday. The Blanks' residence was damaged by an uprooted tree, south of Nicollet, Minn.
Jackson Forderer | The Free Press via AP

Updated: 9:45 a.m. | Posted: 5:42 a.m.

The National Weather Service says at least three to as many as six tornadoes touched down as severe storms moved through south-central Minnesota.

Meteorologist Jacob Beitlich tells The Associated Press the first reported twister was on the ground around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday near Lake Crystal, about 75 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

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Beitlich says forecasters later received several reports of tornado touchdowns around the town of Nicollet, about 11 miles north of Lake Crystal. Tornadoes were also reported near the towns of New Sweden, Gaylord and Winthrop.

No injuries were reported, but Beitlich says some farm buildings near Nicolett were destroyed.

The weather service will send a team to survey the storm damage on Thursday.

Meanwhile in Redwood Falls, reports of up to 9 inches of rain in spots led to wet basements and ponding around the southwestern Minnesota city.

Troy Krause, editor of the Redwood Falls Gazette, says rainstorms since Sunday have left the ground saturated and the winds that followed have toppled trees.

"Just a lot of water standing. And a lot of places — places that have never had rain before, water before — now are wet," he said.

The county's emergency management director has yet to fully assess the damage.