Unconfirmed Tornado Destroys Barns, Sheds, Greenhouses In Western Wisconsin
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A possible tornado touched down near Prescott, Wisconsin at about 10 p.m. Saturday. There were no reports of any deaths or serious injuries, but many structures were hit hard.
For many, Sunday morning was spent sawing up trees that snapped from straight-line winds in a neighborhood just north of Prescott near Kinnickinnick State Park. A row of sheared-off trees along 770th Avenue shows the power of the winds that came through the area.
Kurt Kinneman had just missed the worst of the storm.
"Pretty devastating," Kinneman said.
He pulled into the driveway of his 30-year-old family farm and saw the damage, as well as the loss of a shed, greenhouse and trailer that was on its side.
"We've had some straight-line winds come through, but we've never lost a building," Kinneman said. "Just glad we're still here, the house is still standing. Just glad we're here right now."
This family grows hemp plants, and this is their first year in businesses -- a year that's certainly testing them. But at first look, they think most of their plants are salvageable.
"It's going to be a big hit, but we're just going to keep pushing through the year," Kinneman said. "We'll definitely have a crop yet, things will move forward."
Just up the road, Judy Edgar was home at the time of the storm and took shelter in her basement.
"My neighbor, bless his heart, was here checking on me, no power of course, so I did not know the barn was gone until he told me," Judy Edgar said.
Their barn was taken over by the Edgar family in 1902, and has been passed down to five generations of corn and soy bean farmers. Her son, Chris Edgar, is currently running the farm.
"It's amazing. It's weathered a lot of storms, but it's finally met its match," Chris Edgar said.
He's just thankful everyone is alive, and the house they live in was not touched.
"Mom's not replaceable, the buildings are," he said.
Their barn typically houses pasture horses. Fortunately, they survived the storm, too.
"Great powers, I think, looking out for us, really," Judy Edgar said.
The National Weather Service is still working to determine if a tornado was indeed the culprit.