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Funnel clouds reported in Fergus Falls area

By Dave Churchill (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, June 14, 2008

Funnel clouds chased people off the streets Saturday evening just as the SummerFest parade was about to begin. High winds brought down branches and a few trees. No injuries were reported.

A line of severe weather swept towards the Fergus Falls area about 6 p.m., catching most residents off guard. Crowds had lined the SummerFest parade route, arriving early to get prime viewing positions. Then, shortly before the parade, as dark clouds loomed on the western horizon, organizers announced that the parade had been postponed.

Minutes later, tornado sirens began to sound. Within another 20 minutes, funnel clouds were reported on the west and north sides of town. It is not certain whether a tornado actually touched down.

The storm blew through in about 15 minutes, continuing east through Otter Tail County. In its wake were many downed branches, a few of which were reported to have tangled with power lines.

A food vendor’s trailer, enroute home from the SummerFest celebration, toppled over at the intersection of Union Ave. and West Fir. Swaths of shingles and roofing material appeared to have been stripped from the roof of the nearby Sunrise Apartments. Traffic was briefly blocked at the intersection of Summit Ave. and Vine Street, where a tree fell.

Within an hour, winds were again calm and the sun was out.

The parade has been rescheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday.

Comments

The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.

Posted by mngirl (anonymous) on June 14, 2008 at 11:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It seemed to me that there was a Funnel that touched down behind Mabel Murphy's. Also, I would like to thank the fine people at Target for the great hospitality during that time. It was much appreciated.

Posted by Norse (anonymous) on June 15, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Yes, it was a funnel but perhaps not high-powered enough to cause significant dammage, I know someone who drove through that as it crossed hiway 15 near River Oaks. It is a memory that they won't soon forget.
Great Job to the Parade Organizers and local authorities for making the timely decision to get the public to safety. Thank God for his protecing hand on those mentioned above. Let's get this parade thing done right today.

Posted by mnwxchaser_dot_com (anonymous) on June 15, 2008 at 12:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This is a gustnado on the leading edge of an outflow dominant storm. The "funnels" are what chasers refer to as "shark's teeth" and are found on the leading edge of a shelf cloud. A shelf cloud looks like a cow catcher scraping the ground on the leading edge of a storm where the rain and hail will fall behind this feature. In the case of a real tornadic supercell, the wall cloud and possible tornadic circulation will follow BEHIND the rain and hail. These gustnadoes can be pretty deceiving at times especially with all of the motion along the leading edge of a shelf cloud, but are not the result of the same set of physics and parameters needed to create a tornado.

Posted by gumball (anonymous) on June 15, 2008 at 7:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Is it possible for you guys to turn OFF the wild weather over the 4th of July. I'm flying out for the 4th and would like to see some rockin' fireworks if possible. Thanks.

Posted by KS42 (anonymous) on June 15, 2008 at 8:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I posted a video of it on You Tube. I was standing right outside my apt. when it came overhead. It looked like there were 2 funnel systems, with a funnel hanging down from the second one. Incredibly scary. After the storm, I went downtown by City Hall and helped clean up the mess made when the high winds tore up the craft vendors tables and tents.

Posted by fergusfallsmom (anonymous) on June 16, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I am so grateful to the Summer fest folks and others involved that sounded the sirens the first time to get people home faster. From the information we had at the time, we thought it was just a bad thunderstorm. So, we thought we would go out for dinner since we were out and about. Once we heard the sirens, we decided it would be better to get home with our two small children. If not for that first siren, we would have been in the kitchen of Applebees or Dairyland! Thank you for going with the side of caution! Severe weather should always be taken very seriously... especially with small children.

Posted by bucksteel (anonymous) on June 16, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Devo - looks like you were getting a little shaky on the last couple of pictures? Must have been time to get the heck out of there, I'm guessing. Nice pics - thanks!

Posted by JennenN6M (anonymous) on June 16, 2008 at 5 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I saw the funnel by are house it was huge it looked like it was on the ground because it was really dusty. And there was also alot of rain and hail.

Posted by ffrogg (anonymous) on June 16, 2008 at 11:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

nice pics bill, looks like a pair of gustnados within the forward flank downdraft area, beneath a shelf cloud.

Posted by KS42 (anonymous) on June 22, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I posted a video of the storm on You Tube. "amnrose41" It came right over my apt. building, and very scary. There were 2 sets of rotation, and on the second one, it looks like a funnel hanging down.

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