A trail of damaged homes and buildings dotted a wide swath of the U.S. on Saturday after a burst of destructive winds and reported tornadoes tore off roofs, uprooted trees and rendered rural roads impassable with debris.
No deaths were reported following Friday’s storms that barreled through the Upper Midwest and delivered the latest round of severe weather to batter the region. Officials braced residents for a long recovery in some rural communities.
“We are extremely fortunate that this storm did not result in loss of life or serious injury,” Stephenson County Sheriff Steve Stovall said of the storm that hit Lena, Illinois, on Friday.
Officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota echoed those sentiments.
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In central Wisconsin, a reported tornado that tore through the cities of Kronenwetter and Ringle left behind damaged homes and some residents briefly trapped in their basements, Ringle Fire Chief Chris Kielman told reporters.
Marathon County Sheriff Chad Billeb said he had not seen this much devastation during his 34 years in law enforcement.
“A lot of people are going to need a lot of help,” Billeb said of the Wisconsin storms.
In Olmsted County, Minnesota, sheriff’s officials said tornadoes caused “multiple levels” of damage. At least 30 homes were damaged in Marion Township, with a number of those sustaining damage that was described as significant. Officials went door to door in the community to check on residents.
The National Weather Service said the damage was likely caused by tornadoes and that surveys of the affected areas would be conducted over the weekend.
In Illinois, Leo Zach, 14, had just gotten to the high school band room for a music competition when the building started shaking and the power went out. He said the room was packed with students and some were very scared and had panic attacks.
“I’m definitely on the luckier side of how that could’ve happened,” he said. “I was just trying to stay calm, help other people.”
When they got outside, they found some of the windows blown out in the gym and part of the school’s roof ripped off.
Photos and video posted online showed a garage totaled, bricks torn off of buildings and fences demolished.
Lena is a village of nearly 3,000 people, located about 117 miles (188 kilometers) northwest of Chicago.
Rachel Nemon had been going to pick up her stepson from Lena’s middle school when she had to pull into a car wash to take cover from the storm. She watched a large tree get ripped from the ground and sparks fly feet in front of her.
“This is something that you see online, not in real life, especially in a small town in Illinois,” she said.
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Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
