Jun 18, 2009 7:22 pm US/Central
Residents Clean Up After Tornadoes Hit Austin
AUSTIN, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Jane Bau of sent us this picture of storm damage in Mower County after severe thunderstorms and a likely tornado on Wednesday, June 17, 2009.
Jane Bau
Workers were busy getting the power back on in Austin. The National Weather Service says Wednesday night's storms produced at least three tornadoes, and maybe even more.
It was around 8:15 p.m. when Doris Hoy walked around her Austin home and felt uneasy. The sky had the ominous appearance of trouble. She's seen wall clouds before and knew right away it wouldn't be long.
"That's when the sirens went off and then the lights flickered, and we ran into the basement," Hoy recalled.
Seemingly out of nowhere two, maybe three tornadoes descended from the clouds and began their paths of destruction. Most heavily damaged is the north side of this city of 21,000 residents. That, turns out, was a good thing because most of the heavily populated neighborhoods are south of Interstate 90.
But north of town is where Carolyn Sash and here husband operate their oil and lubricant warehouse business. In a 20,000-square-foot steel structure, they stored all the products they supply to auto dealers, parts stores and mechanics. On Thursday, much of it is strewn about the mangled building.
"A 20,000-square-foot building is probably done. A lot of our inventory is in cases and it's all wet so it's no good," said Sash.
Big semi-trailer trucks were toppled onto their sides and will have to be up-righted using giant inflatable airbags.
Just down the road from Sash is the local Pro-Build lumber yard. It too sustained heavy damage to the steel pole buildings and shelters. The front portion of the office and showroom had the roof blown off and manager Roger Stratton is thankful the business was closed at the time of the storm.
Stratton was home with his family at the time and recalls the sky looking dark as chocolate.
"It was dark and gloomy and clouds going in opposite directions," Stratton remembers.
All across the north end of Austin you will hear the chorus of chainsaws. Volunteers and tree service crews are removing hundreds of uprooted trees and severed branches.
At one point, nearly 80 percent of residents and businesses were without power. Working around the clock, utility crews have restored service to all but the most heavily hit parts of town.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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