Severe Storms Blast North Dakota
Cass County Electric Cooperative reported power outages scattered from Hope to Sheldon. Its crews traced a 54-mile long path of damage through the service area, spanning about 12 miles wide.
"We were out on the porch and we just saw the winds came up, and the hail came real quick. I got the girls in the basement," said Teresa Ham, who lives two miles west of Embden.
Hail knocked out windows and toppled large trees in the yard of her home. One of her horses was injured and Ham's parents, Herb and Anita Sommerfeld rushed the animal to a veterinarian in Casselton.
Anita Sommerfeld said the horse is expected to recover from a cut on the back legs.
There were no reports of human injuries, but plenty of property damage.
"Colgate got it the worst," said Steele County Chief Deputy Don Huso. "There are several hundred trees damaged."
The hail went right through one home in Colgate, Huso said. "There were holes in the siding," he said.
"Garden sheds were blown over, and several houses had their garage doors blown in," he said.
Huso said the storm got more intense south of Finley, where residents lost power. The National Weather Service said full-grown trees were reported uprooted in Finley and blown onto homes and vehicles.
"We had winds up to 70 or 80 mph," Huso said.
In McLeod, in Ransom County, grain bin parts were scattered in town.
In Hope, hail persisted for more than 5 minutes. The town also reported 1½ inches of rain.
The National Weather Service was sending a team to the area Monday to assess the damage.
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