Thunderstorm Wind — Anoka, Minnesota

2005-09-21 · near Countywide, Anoka, Minnesota

Event narrative

Two destructive storms swept across Anoka County, knocking over tens of thousands of trees, blowing roofs off houses, and producing large hail and two tornadoes. See separate reports for the hail and tornadoes. One storm moved across northwestern and central Anoka County, and the other tracked across southern Anoka County. The property damage report of $85 Million dollars covers all damage from wind and hail in Anoka County on 9-21-05. Many cities declared a state of emergency.The first storm knocked down three foot diameter trees in Ramsey and tipped over vehicles at an RV dealership. In Andover, several homes had roofs completely blown off, where the strongest downburst winds were estimated to have reached 85 knots. Numerous garages and sheds were blown apart. A portion of a gym roof was torn off at a school. About 10% of roads were blocked by fallen trees. The storm also moved across Coon Rapids, where 500 trees were felled at Bunker Hills Golf Course, the roof was blown off an office building, a fourplex had its roof partially blown off, and the Riverview neighborhood was "smothered" in downed trees. This storm was accompanied by two tornadoes, one in Andover and another tracking from Coon Rapids to Blaine (see separate tornado entries). The F0 tornado in Andover produced very little damage, but was accompanied by a very strong rear flank downdraft, which did the vast majority of the damage in Andover.The second storm tracked across southern Anoka County, affecting Fridley the most. This was the storm that produced significant damage over Hennepin County, and later on, Ramsey County. In Fridley, several thousands of trees were toppled, causing structural damage to about 400 homes. Many roads were blocked and about 90% of the city lost power. Three people were injured when clearing fallen trees. A damage survey revealed both inflow and downburst damage as the mesocyclone tracked over Fridley. Spring Lake Park and Columbia Heights also saw hundreds of downed trees, some on houses and across roads.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5479126. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.