It was much-hyped for days ahead of time.

And an outbreak of severe weather developed, as promised, last night in North Dakota.

We have reports from several areas where the weather did damage.

JimFirst, to the north of Minot - from Sherwood to Portal - where high winds and Tornadoes pelted the area.

Here's Dan Erdmann...

(Dan Erdmann, KX News) It wouldn't take an expert tracker to follow the trail of destruction left by severe weather Wednesday evening.

(Terry Wolkenhauer, Rural Flaxton Resident) "We started driving around and we started seeing all the damage that was done."


(Dan Erdmann, KX News) Terry Wolkenhauer and his wife Laurel live on a farm north of Flaxton, and when reports of tornadoes near Portal began popping up, the couple watched closely as the dark, ominous clouds neared their home.

(Terry Wolkenhauer, Rural Flaxton Resident) "I was coming back up into the yard and I saw the neighbor's bin go and I told Laurel, "It's time to get in the basement." So, we headed for the basement."


(Dan Erdmann, KX News) When they returned outside, the storm had passed, but had left it's mark in the process.

(Terry Wolkenhauer, Rural Flaxton Resident) "Grain bins blew all over, some came out of Canada, water running over the road further east here, because they got so much rain."


(Dan Erdmann, KX News) Between 3 and 4 inches of rain in some areas. The storm also impacted several of their neighbors' as well. Three miles southwest of the Wolkenhauers, several empty oil tanks were scattered for miles, taking out numerous electrical poles along the way. Even more impressive is that almost all damage was caused by straight line winds, and not tornadoes. The same storm continued east, damaging trees in Northgate before heading toward Sherwood. Steve Keith and his wife Jerri were in town when he got a call on his emergency pager regarding damage northwest of Sherwood.

(Steve Keith, Sherwood Resident) "So then I called a neighbor that lives a mile north here and asked him what had happened up there. And he said, "Well, nothing, but I'll go on a road trip." So, he drove down here and then called me back and told me that there were some bins gone."


(Dan Erdmann, KX News) Keith was in the process of placing the bins on hoppers, when again, straight line winds carried them across the yard, crushing them against the ground. Luckily, the bins were insured because the Keith family knows all too well the damage storms can produce.

(Steve Keith, Sherwood Resident) "We've had two tornadoes here, one in 78 or 79 and one in the 80s that came through and took bins, and some buildings and a lot of trees. So this is the third time we've had damage in this yard."


(Dan Erdmann, KX News) Keith is thankful his neighbors were spared of any major damage, and despite a few downed trees in the area, he feels they were very fortunate.

(Steve Keith, Sherwood Resident) "With what's sitting around here, if it would've tipped some of these other hopper bins too, we're pretty lucky I guess. It was just the older bins that got damaged."


(Dan Erdmann, KX News) And although the cleanup process will likely take several weeks, residents know the outcome could've been a lot worse. Near Sherwood, Dan Erdmann, KX News. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list