FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Portions of eastern North Dakota were cleaning up Sunday, a day after Mother Nature brought intense rainfall, fierce winds and hail — all in a 24-hour period.
Several hours after intense rainfall began swelling the Red River and other waterways, a storm pelted areas of Fargo-Moorhead on Saturday night.
Winds that reached 50 mph toppled tree limbs and interrupted power service for almost 4,500 residents in Fargo. An Xcel Energy spokeswoman said the outages lasted less than two hours, while some customers had their power back in 45 minutes.
The Fargo Theatre, where fans, actor Billy Crystal and other celebrities gathered for a film screening, also was briefly left in the dark.
The fast-moving storm was part of a system of scattered thunderstorms, the latest salvo of intense weather to strike.
On Friday night and early Saturday, more than an inch of rain fell across some areas of eastern North Dakota, while some areas saw several inches.
The intense rainfall drew volunteers out Saturday to lay sandbags along the Park River in Grafton. The Walsh County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that parks are soggy, but the city is not threatened.
Damage from water also closed state Highway 32 just north of the junction with U.S. Highway 2 in northeastern North Dakota. It reopened Sunday evening.
Flood warnings remained in effect Sunday, including for portions of the Park River and Red River.
Forecasts for eastern North Dakota communities in coming days call for sun and some light winds, but no rain.
