EF-1 Tornado Confirmed In Eagle Bend: 'It Sounded Like A Freight Train'

EAGLE BEND, Minn. (WCCO -- At least four tornadoes ripped through parts of Minnesota on Memorial Day, according to the National Weather Service.

The most destructive, an EF-2, tore through the small report town of Forada, located about nine miles south of Alexandria, with winds as fast as 120 mph.

The town of Eagle Bend, in central Minnesota, was hit by an EF-1 tornado, with wind speeds topping out at 95 mph. The town's Main Street took the brunt of the twister. The insides of offices are now outdoors, and brick walls from buildings litter the sidewalks near Main Street. The tops of grain silos nearby are crumpled or gone.

Town members shaken up, but the storm did not take them down. Jack Mordh recorded it all with his cellphone.

"I saw the radar and could see it ripping through the area … and I knew the wind was gonna be pretty bad. Wife was yelling at me, I kept, I wanted to get the footage, wanted to see it and just ran downstairs cause I knew there was a tornado, so I booked it downstairs and had to get my family safe," Mordh said.

WCCO also talked with a resident named Duane. He says his camper and boat were thrashed into his house.

"Oh it sounded like a freight train, that was the first time I ever heard that, but you could definitely tell there was a tornado nearby," Duane said.

Power is still out in the whole area Tuesday evening. Residents are counting their losses and their blessings, because thankfully everyone is safe. Several people we spoke with said when tragedy strikes a small town, the residents come together – and that's certainly what we've seen Tuesday in Eagle Bend.

The other two confirmed tornadoes that struck Monday were an EF-1 that wreaked havoc in Plato, southwest of the metro, with max wind speeds of 90 mph; and a long track EF-0/EF-1 tornado caused damaged between Appleton and Glenwood in southwestern Minnesota.