Twin Cities Residents Cope With Brutal Winds 3 Straight Days
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For three days now, we've heard the fierce wind howling outside our windows.
The powerful gusts, up to 67 miles per hour, knocked out power to thousands of Xcel Energy customers.
The winds were so strong they bent a big Burger King sign in Brooklyn Park overnight. The dangerously strong winds began on Monday, when two tornadoes struck the state.
And if you spent any time outdoors Tuesday or Wednesday, it was far from pleasant. We caught up with people out in the elements to see how they were coping.
It was blustery, brutal and just plain harsh.
"Torrential, it blows you away. I could hardly be walking a straight line," Tracy Rode said.
There is certainly more than one way to describe it. Winds were cranking again today.
"If you don't weigh over a couple hundred pounds you might get blown away or something," Kenny Vaughns said.
Those relentless west northwest winds sustained at more than 30 miles per hour, at times with peak wind gusts close to 50 miles per hour.
"It's just really something. Walking around the lake I'm just trying to figure if I'm going to make it all the way around," Steve Moore said.
"It catches you off guard right away. You know at first a couple days ago, it was real nice," Vaughns said. "Then all the sudden it's like we're in the Tundra, you know, 50 mile per hour winds."
From rough waters and detached flags to downed fencing. The relentless winds even toppled this semitrailer on Highway 63 in Fillmore County.
"I mean I know about high pressure and low pressure and wind is going from one place to another but how it can continue to wanna go day after day after day like this? My windows were rattling last night, it's an interesting phenomenon," Moore said.
And yes, a lot of people we spoke with are wondering what exactly is causing all this ridiculous wind? Well, that massive and potent system that brought us tornadoes Monday pulled off to the east, creating a strong pressure gradient. Hence the gusty winds."
"Well it brought the ice off the lakes closer to spring time, okay, so there's the silver lining," Rode said.
There is always the silver lining, and the good news is winds are beginning to ease Wednesday night.
