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 warmed up in much of the U.S.
A complex storm system wreaked havoc in parts of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with tornadoes, 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 news conference Saturday that two men and a woman were killed late Friday at two locations around the town of Enderlin, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) southwest of Fargo. Thousands of households lost power.
Hours earlier the National Weather Service in Grand Forks said on the social platform X that two deaths were attributed to a tornado that hit a home.
Tornado confirmed
Timothy Lynch, lead forecaster with the NWS office in Grand Forks, said the storm was confirmed as a tornado but 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.
Gov. Kelly Armstrong said in a statement that the NWS confirmed a second tornado touched down near Spiritwood, which is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Fargo. Armstrong issued a statewide disaster declaration to respond to the damage.