Tornadoes touch down in Rochester area, damaging dozens of homes
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Severe thunderstorms produced tornadoes Friday afternoon in southeast Minnesota, damaging dozens of homes.
There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or deaths from the storms.
The National Weather Service reported multiple sightings of tornadoes south and east of Rochester between 2 and 3 p.m., including a report from the Rochester Airport tower.
The weather service reported a damaging tornado in the Marion area southeast of Rochester just before 3 p.m. and another tornado near Plainview.
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The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office reported about 30 homes were damaged — a dozen with significant damage — in the Marion area. A temporary shelter was set up in Rochester for people displaced from their homes.
Videos and pictures from southeastern Rochester showed homes with walls and siding ripped off. At least one was missing a roof. Trees were blown down and blocked roads in the area.
Much of the damage occurred along Marion Road, which cuts through the southeastern part of the city. A large swath of the road was closed to traffic Friday afternoon.
Damage to homes and trees was also seen in nearby Stewartville, just south of Rochester. The sheriff’s office said about 20 homes were damaged in Stewartville.
According to a crash report from the Minnesota State Patrol, a driver of a semi-truck was injured when a tornado caused his truck to flip along Interstate 90 southeast of Rochester. The driver survived with non-serious injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital.
Minnesota utilities reported more than a thousand homes and businesses without power as of Friday evening, down from several thousand earlier in the day. That included many People’s Energy Cooperative customers — with the co-op reporting significant outages in the Stewartville and Marion areas south and east of Rochester, and also in the Plainview area.
“We are seeing significant power outages in our service territory with reports of trees and poles down,” the utility reported in a social media post just after 3 p.m. “If you encounter downed lines or damaged equipment, please stay clear and call 911. We have crews heading to various locations in our service territory to assess damage. It may be several hours to understand the extent of the damage and work to restore power.”
Rochester Public Schools held students at their designated safety spots for a time. The district issued an update shortly before 3 p.m. stating that buses at elementary schools would begin loading and bringing students home. Middle and high school students were transported after that.
Storms also produced hail Friday afternoon across southern and eastern Minnesota.
