Western Minn. sees tornado damage as storms move east

The city of Forada in western Minnesota experienced "heavy damage" from what was likely a tornado Monday, Douglas County Emergency Manager Julie Anderson said.

Crews were working on "active rescue" Monday evening, though they had no reports of fatalities or significant injuries, Anderson said. "We're still going home to home and making sure that no one is injured," Anderson said.

Multiple emergency responders were on the scene, Anderson added, and Otter Tail Power Company was working to move damaged power lines out of their way.

As of Monday evening, the National Weather Service's Chanhassen office had not seen photo or video confirming that the damage in Forada was caused by a tornado — though meteorologist Todd Krause said it was "very likely." Social media showed photos of several damaged buildings.

Krause added that meteorologists were able to use photos to confirm that a tornado landed near Appleton, Minn., about 70 miles southwest of Forada. At least one other tornado was reported to the weather service along the South Dakota border in the Minnesota towns of Trosky and Jasper.

Several reports of damage popped up around Minnesota after a line of storms swept northeast through the state starting Monday afternoon, reaching the Twin Cities metro area about 7:30 p.m. Various severe weather warnings and watches were issued for large swaths of Minnesota throughout the afternoon and evening.

The National Weather Service was keeping a particularly close eye on the area west of the I-35 corridor. Hail was reported near Duluth as well as central, west and southwest Minnesota.

Storms were expected to weaken as they moved into west-central Wisconsin, the weather service said.

Staff Writer Alex Chhith contributed to this story.