E-Paper
North Dakota tornado outbreak kills 3 amid extensive damage: Watch horrific videos
North Dakota experienced severe weather on Friday night, leading to at least three deaths. Tornado damage was reported in Enderlin.
Severe weather slammed through North Dakota on Friday night, killing at least three people, police said.
At around 11:40 p.m. on Friday night, the Cass County Sheriff's Office was called to rural Enderlin, North Dakota, to look into atornado damage ofa residence. However, the Enderlin Fire Department informed the deputies that storm chasers reportedtwo tornado-related deaths, according to a statement from the Cass County Sheriff's Office.
“Shortly after learning of this, the Enderlin Fire Department was dispatched to another location, and a third deceased person was found as a result of the tornado,” the authorities have said, as per ABC News. “Deputies found extensive damage to the area and began conducting well-being checks on people with several partner agencies. Law enforcement, the Enderlin Fire Department, and other first responders continue searching the area and checking on residents now.”
Also Read: Tulsi Gabbard fiercely reacts after Donald Trump rejects her Iran assessment as ‘wrong’
What we know about North Dakota's very strong tornadoes, damages
Firefighters from Alice and Enderlin, the Red River UAS team, Cass County Deputies, Casselton and Lisbon Ambulance, and North Dakota Highway Patrol officers investigated the area and performed welfare checks. No other people were hurt.
According to Timothy Lynch, a National Weather Service meteorologist, several tornadoes made landfall in the counties of Stutsman, Barnes, Ransom, and Cass.
“We can’t really rate it until we see what kind of damage it produced,” Lynch stated, as per KFGO. “However, from what I saw on radar and first hand accounts that were sent to us via video, they look like they could potentially be very strong tornadoes.”
As the investigation progresses, the Cass County Sheriff's Office stated that they will keep working through the incident's circumstances.
Several buildings were demolished following the tragic incident as strong winds uprooted trees, flipped semis, and tore roofs off houses.
“Radar-indicated winds upwards of 110 miles-per-hour and several reports from NDDAWN, personal weather stations reported 80, 90, 100 miles-per-hour winds,” Lynch stated. In Bemidji, a gust of 106 mph was recorded.
In west-central North Dakota, tornadoes were generated by supercells that were backed by strong storms. According to James Telken, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Bismarck, the line caused a few sporadic tornadoes and straight-line winds above 100 miles per hour.
