NWS: First Deadly Tornado in Minnesota Since 2011
DALTON -- One of the tornadoes that struck Otter Tail County on Wednesday killed one person. The Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office says a 30-year-old man was killed near Dalton when a twister destroyed a large garage in which he was working. The Otter Tail County Sheriff says the man who died was Seth Nelson of rural Battle Lake.
The National Weather Service says this is the first fatality from a tornado in Minnesota since 2011.
A preliminary statement from the weather service also says it could have been an EF-3 on the enhanced Fujita damage scale. That would make it the first tornado rated EF-3 or greater since August of 2010.
Two other people who lived in the path of one of the tornadoes were treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released.
In addition to the tornadoes, the storms also produced large hail, torrential rains, and strong downburst winds. The Park Rapids airport measured a wind gust of 75 mph. There were power outages reported near Hackensack, Akeley, and Aitkin. The National Weather Service observer north of Isle on the east side of Mille Lacs reported 3.38 inches of rain.