Weather News

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ― Eyewitnesses spotted a tornado in downtown Minneapolis Wednesday afternoon. Minneapolis has partially activated its Emergency Operations Center. However, there are no reports of injuries at this time.

In addition to damage being reported in areas of south Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Convention Center sustained significant roof damage while about 2,200 people were registered inside. They were taken to a safe location and there have been no reported injuries.

The tornado has also reportedly damaged Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis.

A witness at the church said, "We saw the tornado, it was turning, real fast, it got real black out here and had the trees coming to us on the left, the windows were shaking real bad and all this stuff across the street in the church, they had a little dinner there, it tore it all up, and it was just lifting off the ground. And it just disappeared. It just disappeared."

"It was coming right at me," said downtown eyewitness R.J. Fritz. "It was coming from south to north and it was coming right down the street. Things were in a circular motion. Everything is going up in the air. Papers, cardboard boxes, branches, everything. It came right over the car … sounded like I was in a big car wash for a minute and then it was gone."

"I was waiting at the bus stop 43rd and 4th in south Minneapolis with three other folks," said eyewitness Andrew Lucas. "It was coming down pretty hard and we saw the rain intensify. Out of nowhere, we saw this funnel come down out of the clouds like a little baby tornado almost and move sort of north, northeast headed down 4th."

Mayor R.T. Rybak toured the area later Wednesday to assess damage and saw a hole in the Convention Center's roof that caused water to leak in.

Although there were many reports of downed trees and property damage, there were no reports of injuries, city officials said in a statement.

"It obviously had a significant physical impact but at this point it looks as if we're very fortunate there were relatively few injuries," Rybak said.

First responders were going house-to-house in the area looking for victims.

Jack Freitag said he was standing in the lobby of the Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis when he saw "a wall cloud from the south coming across the parking lot." Then a "very loud roar" came through as he saw signs being blown around in the wind.

The wind tore off part of the church's 90-year-old metal steeple around 2 p.m. while about 120 people were inside, said church spokesman Joe Bjordal.
"I was worried about the people then," said Freitag, who told everyone to seek shelter in the church's basement. No one was injured.

Outside the church, strong winds ripped apart large outdoor tents and scattered chairs and folding tables across the parking lot that were set up for the national Evangelical Lutheran Church in America convention. The church was scheduled to serve breakfast to guests attending the event at the Minneapolis Convention Center next door.

At the Electric Fetus, a landmark independent music store near downtown, strong winds shattered one of the store's windows and caused the roof to cave in.

"It was just the loudest crashing noise," said Stephanie Covart, the store's co-owner. "We didn't know what was happening."

A glass panel on a nearby bus shelter was shattered, leaving scattered pieces of glass on the sidewalk.

Officers in Cottage Grove reportedly observed a tornado touchdown and debri thrown about near Highway 61 and Lockridge Avenue. According to the report, a lawnmower was blown under a squad.

Becca Virden of CenterPoint Energy says it's important that if a customer smells any gas, they should leave the premises immediately, and then call 911.

Xcel Energy is working to identify and manage downed power lines. To report damaged or downed power lines, customers are asked to call Xcel Energy at 1-800-895-1999.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)