Tuesday night’s storm caused heavy damage to the Wheaton-Dumont CO-OP Elevator in Tenney, Minnesota, about 20 mile south of Breckenridge.Wilkin County Sheriff Rick Fiedler estimates about three-quarters of the large complex was either destroyed or “severely” damaged. Much of the damage is to steel bins. Four were flattened. Fiedler says he’s uncertain if the damage was the result straight-line winds or a tornado but he believes a tornado is a “pretty good suspect.”
Two large propane tanks were also damaged during the storm. That required the evacuation of several nearby farms for several hours while fire crews let one of most heavily damaged tanks empty.
The storm also toppled several rail cars at the elevator and CP-Rail crews were on scene to clear the damage and re-open the tracks. There were no injuries.
Fire Departments from Breckenridge, Campbell, and Fairmont, along with the Wilkin County Sheriff’s Office cleared the scene shortly before 5 a.m. Wednesday. Thanks to KFGO