A thunderstorm Tuesday night was severe but brief, knocking down trees and causing a brief power outage in Jamestown.
The thunderstorm produced around 0.27 inches of rain in Jamestown, but wind gusts of 63 mph were reported at Jamestown Regional Airport at around 11:15 p.m., and storm chasers reported a 71-mph gust around 4 miles northwest of Jamestown, said Zachary Hargrove, meteorologist, National Weather Service in Bismarck.
“We did have some severe weather reports,” Hargrove said. “The storm was moving pretty good and so the rain didn't last that long.”
Lt. Sid Mann of the Jamestown Police Department said most of the storm damage occurred Tuesday between 10:30 p.m. and midnight. There were several reports of large tree limbs falling and one tree fell across 2nd Street Southwest. Officers assisted residents with moving the tree off of the roadway, he said.
Several trees lost limbs at McElroy Park and crews were cleaning up Wednesday.
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Technicians responded to a fallen light pole that knocked out power momentarily for around 600 customers, said Rebecca Michael, communications specialist in public relations for Otter Tail Power Co.
“We also took care of a few downed lines and are still working on a handful of isolated issues,” Michael said. “If customers are still experiencing an outage, please let them know to call us at 800-257-4044.”
It was a North Dakota Department of Transportation wind sensor that measured a 65-mph wind southeast of Medina that led to the severe thunderstorm warning, Hargrove said.
“Once we saw that reading we had a feeling the storm would approach Jamestown with the same intensity,” Hargrove said.
The weather system on Thursday should be similar in terms of precipitation and wind, he said. The worst of the storm will be moving northeast from the southwest on a line from Bowman through Pierce counties, he said.
“There still should be some storms tracing around Stutsman County from midnight to 6 a.m., Thursday into Friday,” Hargrove said. “The nature of these storms are hit and miss but we are not expanding severe storms (around Jamestown).”
