At least 1 dead, 2 injured as ferocious tornado rips through Minnesota countryside

At least one person was killed, two others injured and several buildings were destroyed after a ferocious tornado ripped through the Minnesota countryside Wednesday evening.

Three farms were hit and one of the farmhouses were flattened, as two twisters touched down one after the other, crushing cars and snapping trees like twigs. One even drained some of the water from the nearby Pelican Lake.

Eyewitness footage captured the sheer power of the ‘EF-3’ category tornadoes, which boast winds of 136 to 165mph, which scarred up to nine miles of farmland, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Quick DSLR edit of the Dalton, Minnesota Stovepipe Tornado! #tornado #mnwx @ReedTimmerAccu @NWSTwinCities @NWSGrandForks pic.twitter.com/ix8Qfg1zV6

— Jake Heitman (@HeitmanJake) July 8, 2020

Two people were hospitalized with unspecified injuries and there was one fatality, according to Shannon Terry, spokesperson for Otter Tail County Sheriff.

One eyewitness risked it all to capture an incredible close up of one of the tyrannical twisters.

This was my closest intercept ever and I did it 6 times today… #mnwx @ReedTimmerAccu @spann @JYuhasKSTP @JimCantore @TWCBreaking @ian_leonard @ialto86 @chrisplys pic.twitter.com/iPtgWSE6LL

— Michael Marz (@MichaelMarz1) July 8, 2020

The two tornadoes touched down in the area between 5:10 and 5:30pm local time though several twisters were reported across Minnesota following a bout of high heat and humidity.

The Mayor of Ashby, Minnesota, Tom Grover said that at least three homes near his town were “pretty much gone.”

Another video of the tornado by Battle Creek, Minnesota! Got right on this, editing full video now. #mnwx @NWSTwinCities @ReedTimmerAccu @weatherchannel @kstp pic.twitter.com/eUD62czxiA

— Jake Heitman (@HeitmanJake) July 8, 2020

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), so far in 2020, there have been 10 so-called ‘billion-dollar disasters’ across the US, with more to come as hurricane season picks up.

BREAKING: The U.S. has already been hit with 10 #BillionDollarDisasters this year, the 6th year in a row the nation has seen at least 10 #disasters—a new record. And we still haven't had our first hurricane of the 2020 #Atlantic #HurricaneSeason yet. https://t.co/gLFSAlfQrL #USwx pic.twitter.com/ChIHcHm2gq

— NOAA Satellites – Public Affairs (@NOAASatellitePA) July 8, 2020