U.S. & World

HUGO, Minn. (AP) ― Severe thunderstorms packing large hail and possible tornadoes rumbled across the nation's midsection on Sunday, killing at least one person and destroying dozens of homes in this St. Paul suburb.

A 2-year-old child was killed and the child's sibling was critically injured and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said. The children's parents also were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the family home.

"It's horrible," Hugo City Administrator Mike Ericson said. "The citizens are very shook and scared."

Residents reported a tornado touching down in the area. That has not been confirmed by the National Weather Service, but "it certainly looks awfully likely," Meteorologist Todd Krause said.

Dozens of emergency crews descended on the town to look for those who have not been located and assess the damage. At least 20 people in the area remained unaccounted for, but many of them could be out of town over the long holiday weekend, Ericson said.

Hugo Public Works Director Chris Petree said his family took shelter in the basement before the storm lifted his house off the ground and completely wiped out the second floor of the home.

"I put my daughter down first, my wife on top of her and then I bear-hugged on top of them," Petree said.

Roughly 300 to 400 homes were evacuated in the storm-damaged area because of concerns over hazards including downed power lines and leaky gas lines, Ericson said. The city set up a shelter at Oneka Elementary School for those displaced by the storm, but American Red Cross spokeswoman Courtney Johnson said all but one of the families was able to find a place to stay with friends or relatives. The Red Cross put that family up in a local motel.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced plans to meet with city officials and tour the storm-ravaged city on Monday.

Temperatures reached into the 80s during the day and mixed with cooler temperatures higher up in the air to create "an unstable atmosphere," Krause said. The result was two severe storms barreling down the Interstate 94 corridor, the first carrying the tornadoes and heavy hail and the second a quick downpour of rain, more hail and plenty of wind.

It all started in the extreme northwest metro area around Maple Lake and blasted through Albertville, Coon Rapids and on to Hugo and Forest Lake in the northeast. The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Coon Rapids, downing power lines, uprooting trees and plopping them down on houses.

Earlier in the afternoon, the most damaging effects of the storm system came from large hail, ranging from nickel-sized to baseball-sized as it pelted Monticello, Maple Lake and Albertville, where some windows in houses and car windshields were shattered.

About 15,500 customers in the northeast metro area, including Hugo and Forest Lake, were without power, Xcel Energy Company said. Almost 800 were powerless in the St. Cloud-Monticello area as well, Xcel said.

Hugo appeared to be the hardest hit, with residents saying a tornado touched down near the city's downtown late Sunday afternoon. They reported large hail, high winds and torrential rains as the system blew through the town.

As he huddled in his basement against a foundation wall with his wife and 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Petree said they heard the thunderous sound of their house coming off the ground.

"All you hear is glass breaking and wood tearing and breaking in half," Petree said.

Through it all, Petree's wife kept screaming for the family dog to join them, but it would not follow. Once the storms passed, the family returned to ground level and were joined by one happy pooch about 15 minutes later.

"Just to hear him tell the story scares me like nobody's business," Ericson said.

In northeastern Iowa, at least six people were injured, one critically, when a possible tornado touched down near Parkersburg, authorities said.

Jim Waterbury, a spokesman for Allen Hospital in Waterloo, said people came from nearby Grundy Center, Aplington and Eldora for treatment of mild to moderate injuries.

"It looks like most of them are fractures and broken collarbones," Butler County sheriff's department said. "One is in critical condition."

Officials have opened Parkersburg's elementary school for evacuees.

A possible tornado also struck the nearby town of Dunkerton, with reports of structures damaged in both cities and in rural Black Hawk County.

Power lines have also been knocked down in the area, leaving many residents without power.

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