Storm’s dark hour falls upon FF

Published 11:32 a.m., June 19, 2009

The humidity was thick in the air Thursday afternoon as a wall of black clouds come across the horizon toward Fergus Falls, bringing high winds with it.

The high winds caused some trees to fall, semi-trucks to roll over and the power to flicker on and off. The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office received several calls of felled trees, rotating clouds and water-covered roads. It also received a report of a tree that had fallen on a power line.

No tornadoes were reported and rain was spotty throughout Otter Tail County, according to Vince Goden, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The storm didn’t move a lot in some areas, causing differing amounts of precipitation to be reported throughout the county, Goden said. In Pelican Rapids, 1.38 inches of rain was reported, while Rothsay reported 0.83 inches of rainfall.

Weather spotters reported quarter-inch hail at County Highway 1 at I-94.

The storm left as quickly as it came in and was tapering out by 7 p.m., Goden said.

When Dalton weather spotters were called out by the Otter Tail County dispatch center, they found themselves unable to head for their watching posts. The very heavy rains forced the spotters to stay behind at the fire hall.

On Swan Lake, dozens of St. Cloud State alumni were forced to seek shelter in the Dennis Tuell home where Tuell and his wife Marsha were hosting an alumni picnic. Huskie alumni headed inside with their plates of buffalo burgers, baked beans and potato salad because high winds and rains were rocking the tents set up for the event.

The Fergus Falls High School marching band was outside practicing, but quickly went quiet as the sound of the tornado sirens took over.

As the sirens went off, the Otter Tail County Historical Society canceled its tour of the 90th anniversary of Fergus Falls’ cyclone.

Two semi-trucks rolled over on Interstate 94 between Fergus Falls and Rothsay due to the high winds, according to State Patrol Capt. Bruce Hentges. No injuries were reported. A third semi-truck was also reported to have rolled over near Dalton.

The storm did leave roughly 375 Fergus Falls residents on the northwest side of town without power around 7 p.m. Thursday night. Power was restored to homes within a minute, according to Otter Tail Power project communications specialist Cindy Kuismi.

Otter Tail Power did have problems with three phase transformers throughout the night in the industrial park. Replacements and repairs to the transformers were made well into the morning.

The storm that hit Otter Tail County began in Richland County in North Dakota, where a tornado was reported, according to Goden.

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