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Maintenance workers from Willmar/District 8 clear debris at Buffalo
Lake in the aftermath of a tornado that struck the area on June 24.
Photo by Marcia Lochner
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A tornado from a storm system that spawned at least five other twisters hit
the Renville County city of Buffalo Lake on June 24, causing injuries, extensive
damage and closing busy Hwy 212 for about three hours.
The half mile-wide tornado struck shortly before 8 p.m., moving in from the
south across Hwy 212 into the city’s downtown area.
The Minnesota State Patrol closed the highway because of downed power lines
and other hazards.
Willmar/District 8 maintenance crews from Hutchinson, Litchfield, Redwood Falls,
Olivia and Glencoe arrived shortly after the twister struck to help local authorities
clear fallen trees and other debris from Hwy 212 and streets and roads in the
area.
Bruce Schlueter, Hutchinson Region supervisor, said the crews also provided
traffic control and repaired or replaced damaged traffic signs.
They joined local agencies and soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard to
begin the initial phase of recovery after the storm. Schlueter said the Mn/DOT
workers would remain in Buffalo Lake for a few more days.
The storm system also generated heavy rains in the region, including a 10-inch
downpour that flooded Hwy 22 a few miles south of Litchfield. Maintenance workers
flagged motorists through the area, Schlueter said.
Storm snarls Twin Cities area commuting patterns
The same storm system that produced tornadoes in southwestern Minnesota on
June 24 unleashed a torrent of rain in the Twin Cities metro area, causing widespread
disruption on the region’s highway system on June 25.
As much as six inches of rain fell overnight. Winds from the storm reached
70 miles an hour, knocking down trees and causing scattered power outages.
Soggy soil conditions apparently helped trigger a mudslide on the 4th Street
and 7th Street exits from eastbound I-94 near the West Broadway Avenue Bridge
in Minneapolis, said Kent Barnard, a Metro District public affairs coordinator.
The exits were closed until Metro District crews could remove the washed out
material.
A mudslide also occurred on Hwy 61 at the I-494 Wakota Bridge construction
site in Newport. Maintenance crews there used a tandem snowplow truck mounted
with an underbody plow to scrape the mud from the roadway, Barnard said.
Heavy precipitation also flooded several ramps, including the ramp carrying
traffic from northbound I-35W to west I-694 in New Brighton.
A power outage locked the gate that allows carpoolers to enter eastbound I-394
at Hwy 100, snarling many commuters’ trips to work. Drainage problems caused
several ramps to close. A section of Hwy 100 between 36th Avenue and Brooklyn
Boulevard (Hwy 152) was closed, as were sections of I-35W and I-694.
Throughout the metro area, stalled cars, inoperable traffic lights and debris
also delayed morning commuters.
Metro District crews worked through the day to clear drains in flooded ramps,
repair knocked-out traffic signals and clear debris from the highway system.
Barnard said crews worked feverishly on repairs because weather forecasts indicated
more rain was imminent.
The storm also affected another travel mode—strong winds damaged planes and
buildings at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and forced officials
to limit the number of takeoffs and landings for a brief period.
Heavy rains shut down Hwy 27 in Morrison County
Hwy 27 just east of Little Falls in Morrison County closed June 25 after a
culvert collapsed due to the recent heavy rains, according to Lee Purdham, Baxter/District
3 maintenance superintendent. The highway will be closed until the water recedes
and crews are able to repair the damaged culvert, he said.
By Craig Wilkins
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