CLIFFORD, ND – While a tornado impacted the Enderlin area, claiming the lives of three and leaving a path of destruction miles long, other parts of the area felt the brunt of straight-line winds late Friday night into Saturday morning.
According to the North Dakota Agriculture Weather Network, Galesburg had the region’s highest peak wind gust at 99 miles per hour at just before 1:30 a.m. Saturday. Ten other area communities had peak wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per, including Galesburg’s nearby neighbors, Hillsboro – 78 miles per hour; Hope – 78 miles per hour; and Mayville – 66 miles per hour.
The wind gusts were enough to knock out power to many areas and cause major damage, including the small town of Clifford, where destruction was evident in the fact that a tree now lays on the roof of the town’s only church, Norman Lutheran; and a large tree lays across the road just to the west of the church.
A Clifford resident described the sound of the winds as a jet engine on top of the house.
For Clifford Mayor Shelia Anderson, this isn’t the only time destruction has hit her town – but it’s definitely the worst for the number of trees and widespread impacts.
“The bad part is it came at night,” she said on Saturday afternoon, while taking a momentary break from cleaning up the debris left by the storm.
Power is out for the entire community, and Anderson says it may be an extended period of time before it’s fully restored.
No one was injured.
