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Severe thunderstorms bring rain, wind damage to west-central Minnesota

Thunderstorms from Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in west-central Minnesota brought rain and recorded wind gusts as high as 75 mph.

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Steve Bakke of Open Door Christian Church uses a chainsaw to clear downed trees from the church's Administration Campus yard in New London on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, following severe storm weather in New London overnight.
Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

WILLLMAR — Thunderstorms Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning brought some needed rain — but also some damaging wind gusts — to west central Minnesota.

Storm reports to the National Weather Service of wind gusts and hail showed a path from the eastern Dakotas to western Minnesota.

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Wind damage was reported in the communities of New London , Brooten and Belgrade .

Belgrade recorded wind gusts of 75 mph, according to a report made to the National Weather Service; Brooten firefighters reported gusts between 50 mph and 60 mph five miles south of Brooten. Remarks of a shed destroyed, power poles being snapped in half and pontoons flipped over were made in New London, where 68-mph winds were reported, according to the storm reports compiled by the weather service.

A tree was down on a power line near Clontarf, and a tree was down on the road near Sedan.

Residents come together to clean up on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, after severe weather overnight caused pontoon boats to flip, damaged trees and downed powerlines.

According to the National Weather Service, the city of Glenwood got about an inch of rain from the storms, as well as quarter-sized hail damage.

Willmar residents were without power for a brief period of time overnight.

The Kandiyohi Power Cooperative page on Facebook showed photos of broken poles, downed lines and toppled trees that their crews are addressing in their territory. The post also said that an outside contractor was coming to assist with storm restoration.

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Trees sit on top of apartment buildings along First Avenue in New London on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, following severe storm weather overnight.
Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

A news release from the Stearns County Sheriff's Office reports damage assessments are currently taking place in Brooten, Belgrade and surrounding townships. The Sheriff's Office asked the public to be aware of hazards and workers in the area as the damage assessments and cleanup take place.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "West Central Tribune staff report." Often, the "West Central Tribune staff report" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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