It looked like an angry red welt on the radar screens, but the line of storms Friday split before striking Brainerd and lost some strength.
A downpour added to June's wet weather, cloud-to-ground lightning, and gusty winds were part of Friday's afternoon storms.
After the first line of storms formed across northern Minnesota stretching from the Canadian border to central Minnesota, a second line fell in behind, pushing into the central and southern parts of the state. Storms continued to push through Minnesota throughout the afternoon Friday, with more storm cells popping up on a line in western Minnesota late in the afternoon.
At home near Grafton, N.D., Friday Dean Kaml, with his 10- and 13-year-old, watched as the wind picked up his barn and destroyed it before his eyes, leaving debris strewn across his property.
"I just thought it was a normal thundershower, and we got a little hail, and the wind just started gradually picking up," he said. "It kept getting stronger and stronger and stronger. Before I knew it, there was a grain bin flying at the house. I went out, and watched my barn lift up in the air and scatter with the wind. Just disintegrated."
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A line of thunderstorms passed through the northern reaches of the Red River Valley on Friday morning, bringing 60-80 mph gusts of wind along with it, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Forks.
In Minnesota, 80 mph wind gusts were reported in Polk County.
Lightning strikes suspended Class 2A state baseball semi-finals in St. Cloud. Trees were reported sparking as they landed on power lines in the lakes area Friday afternoon.
Going into Friday night, the National Weather Service expected the potential for thunderstorms to continue, particularly on the strong side especially in the Brainerd lakes area. Brainerd Public Utilities crews were dispatched Friday with power reported out in the northeast part of the city.
Looking forward to the weekend, the lakes area is in a marginal risk on the severe thunderstorm outlook, meaning isolated severe thunderstorms are possible but will likely be limited in duration, size or intensity.
The weather service in Duluth reported thunderstorms Saturday, June 18, were not expected to be severe but could produce locally heavy rain, frequent lightning and brief gusty winds.
"The next round of storms Saturday afternoon through Saturday night could be strong to severe, with large hail, damaging wind gusts and torrential rainfall the main threats," the weather service reported Friday. "Another round of strong to severe thunderstorms is expected for Sunday through late Sunday night. At this time, the potential exists for all modes of severe weather. Large hail, damaging wind gusts, tornadoes and flooding appear possible at this time."
Expect warm and humid conditions with the scattered storms. Highs on Sunday, Father's Day, may be pushing 90 degrees.
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For the week ahead, the weather service predicts a break from the rain with mostly sunny skies and moderating temperatures with highs in the mid-70s. Temperatures may be climbing closer to 80 degrees by week's end when a slight chance for showers and storms returns.
The Forum News Service contributed to this story.
