At least two people have died in flooding caused by powerful storms that damaged homes, washed out roads and stranded motorists in Wisconsin, Minnesota and MI.
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Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze said Tuesday that 25 homes in Watkins were damaged, including 12 with major damage.
The severe weather brought heavy rains, and parts of central Minnesota were under a flash flood warning on Tuesday morning.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says the storm dumped almost a foot of rain on the county and washed out access to a boat launch at Little Girl’s Point County Park northwest of Ironwood.
Two houses were completely destroyed in Litchfield, reported Mayor Keith Johnson.
National Weather survey crews on Tuesday will be assessing damage and estimating the strength of four tornadoes that touched down in central Minnesota Monday afternoon and evening.
A reported tornado left damage Monday night in northwestern Litchfield, Minnesota, according to the National Weather Service.
Residents of Litchfield said they were shocked by the storm.
Diane Kelbing tells KARE-TV she and her husband heard the tornado warning siren, left their home and raced to their mobile home park shelter.
The National Weather Service said more flooding was likely in northern Wisconsin, where rivers and creeks will continue to rise over the next two days.
Officials have activated the State Emergency Operations Center and provided assistance on the ground and in the air and water. Firefighters helped the motorists out of their vehicles and blocked the roadway to prevent traffic until the water receded.
· WIS 122 is closed north of United States 2 at Parker Creek.
· Iron County A is impassable between WIS 22 and Saxon Harbor. “Sirens kept going for quite a while, so we didn’t come out for quite a while either”.
In other areas, the weather service warned residents and travelers in Nisswa, Breezy Point, Brainerd, Aitkin, Garrison and McGregor to be ready for widespread road closures due to flooding.
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The Kanabec County Sheriff’s Office issued a no wake zone alert for county lakes due to the extremely high water levels.
