The severe thunderstorms that rumbled across Minnesota on Saturday damaged hangars at the Faribault airport, knocked out the St. Cloud Fire Department's new radio system and caused street flooding in some communities.
The National Weather Service said strong winds caused the damage at the airport about 5:40 p.m. and also took down 12-inch diameter trees in the Faribault area of southern Minnesota.
Funnel clouds were spotted near Litchfield and Jordan, though there were no reports of touchdowns.
The storms spooked firefighters in St. Cloud when lightning struck one of a station's antennas.
''About three of us just looked at each other and said, 'Whoa. That was close,''' Assistant Fire Chief Gary Fletcher said.
Fletcher told the St. Cloud Times he was in the kitchen when lightning took out the department's new multimillion dollar communications system about 11 a.m. Firefighters relied on walkie-talkies to communicate while repairs were under way.
''It doesn't affect the safety of our firefighters or how effective we are taking care of any emergency calls. It's just a little more work for the dispatcher,'' Fletcher said.
Parts of Sauk Centre, northwest of St. Cloud in central Minnesota, were flooded. Patrol cars briefly blocked U.S. Highway 71 after about 3.5 inches of rain fell before 5 p.m.
''It flooded like it typically does whenever we get a heavy rain,'' Officer Gary Nelson said. ''Cars stall out in it. And every time it floods, somebody drives through it, and your seats are going to get wet _ it's that deep.''
Street flooding was also reported in nearby Holdingford, which also received some 1-inch hail.
Golf ball-sized hail was reported in Sunburg about 1:30 p.m. and New London about 1:50 p.m. In another wave of storms to hit the area, more golf-ball sized hail was reported at 7:25 p.m. in Rockville and at 8:10 p.m. at Hawick.
Wind gusts as high as 60 mph were reported at Glencoe at 4:35 p.m.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
