Jul 15, 2009 6:45 pm US/Central
2 Minn. Towns Clean Up Tornado Damage
SPICER, Minn. (WCCO) ―
-
-
People in Spicer, Minn. were cleaning up from a tornado that touched down.
CBS
Cooler, drier air swept across western Minnesota on Wednesday which was a welcomed relief to the many residents of Swift and Kandiyohi counties still cleaning up the mess left behind by Tuesday's tornadoes.
Wednesday's weather is in sharp contrast to the hot and muggy air that precipitated the dark skies that spawned the damaging twisters.
The first tornado wreaked havoc on the tiny, unincorporated town of Swift Falls, due north of Benson, Minn. in Swift County. It ripped apart several farms, including a large turkey raising operation.
"We ran upstairs and all the doors just slammed shut in the house. I kind of opened the garage door and a big vacuum kind of coming through," recalled John Nygaard.
He spent the better part of the day cleaning up his grandparent's backyard.
About 30 minutes later, people near Spicer in Kandiyohi County scrambled for cover.
It made for some frightening moments at Scott and Tammy Wachter's day care. They were still caring for a couple of small children when the siren sounded, alerting them to the approaching storm.
Scott said they were prepared and pointed out, "We had a couple of kids left here with us and luckily my wife practices tornado drills. They (the kids) took it all in stride."
A few blocks away crews spend hours sucking out the blown insulation from a home's attic, which is now exposed to the elements.
Rick Thorson's parents were on their way to the basement after hearing news reports that a tornado had been spotted. Halfway down, they heard the bang of the roof, being ripped away.
"This while thing could have been so entirely different, in just a matter of seconds. This is wood and sheet rock and it's pretty easy to put back together," said Thorson.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
