ENDERLIN, N.D. — Powerful winds — including a tornado — that swept across parts of the upper Midwest left three people dead and a regional airport heavily damaged, while nearly 150 million Americans were under a heat advisory or warning as the weekend warms up much of the U.S.
A complex storm system wreaked havoc in parts of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with reported tornadic activity, large hail and strong wind gusts, according to Brian Hurley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner said at a press conference Saturday that two men and a woman were killed at two separate locations around the town of Enderlin, North Dakota, late Friday. Enderlin is about 57 miles (92 kilometers) southwest of Fargo. Thousands of households lost power.
Hours earlier in a post on the social media site X, the National Weather Service in Grand Forks said two deaths were attributed to a tornado that hit a home.
Tornado confirmed by National Weather Service
Timothy Lynch, lead forecaster with the NWS office in Grand Forks, said the storm had been confirmed as a tornado, but that crews were still working to determine its strength and highest wind speeds. He said the storm impacted the neighboring counties of Cass and Ransom.
‘’We still have people out investigating and gathering information on what happened. It was a pretty major event," Lynch told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Heavy winds also swept across localized areas of Minnesota. The NWS reported wind gusts of up to 106 mph (171 kph) at Bemidji Regional Airport overnight.