1 Dead After Tornado Hits Western Minnesota, Authorities Say

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At least one powerful tornado damaged farms, left one person dead and two others injured in western Minnesota as severe storms moved across parts of the Midwest, authorities said.

A 30-year-old man was killed near Dalton when a twister destroyed a large garage in which he was working Wednesday evening, said Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Lt. Keith Van Dyke.

Two others suffered non-life threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital, Van Dyke said. He did not know where or how the two were injured.

Three farmsteads were hit, and one of those farmhouses was flattened, said meteorologist Vince Godon with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

There were reports of other tornadoes and weather service ground crews were working to confirm that, meteorologist Daniel Robinson said Thursday.

“Having eyes on the ground, the survey teams can look for indicators of other possible touchdowns,” Robinson said.

The tornado that caused the fatality is believed to be at least in the EF-3 category, with winds of 136-165 mph (219-266 kph), the weather service said. It left a 6- to 9-mile (10- to 14-kilometer) trail of damage as it roared northeast.

Otter Tail County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Shannon Terry said earlier her department was told that two tornadoes touched down near Dalton between 5:10 and 5:30 p.m.

A tornado crossed Interstate 94 but no vehicles were affected, according to the weather service. Other possible tornado activity was reported Wednesday in Colorado as well as parts of Nebraska and Illinois.

In Sedgwick County, Colorado, near the Nebraska state line, KDVR reports video from a trained weather spotter captured a tornado that caused property damage. No injuries were reported.