Two Tornado Warnings Issued for Stearns County Saturday Night

UNDATED (WJON News) -- Two separate Tornado Warnings were issued in Stearns County on Saturday night.

The first one was issued for Central Stearns County because Emergency Management Director Erin Hughes says a trained weather spotter saw what they believed was a tornado touchdown south of Melrose. That has not been confirmed yet though.

The second Tornado Warning was issued for the St. Cloud metro area because of funnel clouds spotted over Benton County according to Hughes.

The National Weather Service tracked the storms that started in Morrison and Todd Counties and then moved through Stearns, Benton and Sherburne Counties producing 60-mile-an-hour winds and hail ranging in size from golf ball to three inches.

Xcel Energy reported about 3,200 homes without power in the St. Cloud metro area immediately after the system moved through the area. East Central Energy had about 1,100 homes without power.

Hughes says they have not had any reports of any substantial damage throughout the county, however, some photos on social media do show some damage to structures near Melrose. She says there are some downed trees and overturned patio furniture.

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Sunday Stearns County Emergency Management will talk with the National Weather Service to see if they want to come to the Melrose area and assess the damage as they are the only agency that can confirm a tornado touchdown.

St.Cloud officially recorded .38 hundredths of an inch of rain during the storm at the St. Cloud Regional Airport.

Some very large outdoor gatherings were happening in the area at the time of the Tornado Warnings, the Benton County Fair in Sauk Rapids, the Stearns County Fair in Sauk Centre, and Heritage Days in Albany.

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