BEMIDJI, Minn. - The northern Minnesota city of Bemidji is cleaning up the damage from a Fourth of July tornado.
The National Weather Service says the EF-1 tornado touched down just west of Bemidji State University just before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. It packed winds of 100 mph and caused significant damage to buildings and trees along a path seven-tenths of a mile long and 200 yards wide during its minute on the ground.
Beltrami County Emergency Management Director Christopher Muller says nobody was injured, but the damage included a garage that was moved off its foundation.
Straight-line winds also damaged a wide area north and south of the path.
Muller says Bemidji barely got its power back on after last week's severe weather before Wednesday's storms hit. He says it's "getting really old."
The county posted on its emergency management Facebook page Wednesday that there was a "concentrated area of damage" in Bemidji on July 4 that snapped and uprooted several large trees and downed some power lines.
One resident said the event "sounded like a train," according to the county. At least one garage was lifted from its foundation, roofing was thrown off roofs, and several trampolines were blown across yards - one even caught in a tree.
The county says trees were blown in several directions. City crews are working to clear the area and restore power. They are asking for the public to stay away from downed power lines.
