MINNEAPOLIS — Powerful winds slammed parts of four Midwestern states Wednesday. At least a half-dozen suspected tornadoes were reported.
The National Weather Service received reports of a possible tornado near downtown Minneapolis. Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois were also hit.
Jack Freitag said he was standing in the lobby of the Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis when he saw “a wall cloud from the south coming across the parking lot.” Then, a “very loud roar” came through as he saw signs being blown around in the wind.
The wind tore off part of the church’s 90-year-old metal steeple around 2 p.m. while about 120 people were inside, said church spokesman Joe Bjordal. No one was injured.
At the Electric Fetus, a landmark independent music store near downtown, strong winds shattered one of the store’s windows and caused the roof to cave in.
The convention center also sustained minor damage.
Meanwhile, across the country, hundreds of century-old trees lay snapped in half and uprooted throughout New York’s Central Park on Wednesday after a severe thunderstorm with winds as high as 80 mph barreled through the city overnight.
“I’ve never seen a wind of that velocity in New York City,” Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said. “It looks like pictures that I’ve seen of war zones where artillery shells have shredded trees.”
