GRAND FORKS -- A Thursday afternoon tornado warning sent many in the Grand Forks area into basements and shelters, but the storm may have caused more commotion than actual destruction, officials said.
There were no reports of damage from Thursday afternoon’s severe weather as of 6 p.m., sheriff’s departments in Grand Forks and Polk counties said, but there were plenty of weather sightings.
The National Weather Service in Grand Forks said it received several reports of funnel and wall clouds in the area. A possible touchdown south of Grand Forks near the KNOX-AM tower was reported, but it has not been confirmed and officials did not find damage near the reported sighting.
A funnel cloud was reportedly seen at 5 p.m. in East Grand Forks, including “multiple vortices extending from wall clouds,” according to the weather service. A few minutes later, Grand Forks International Airport officials reported a possible touchdown 3 miles south of the airport’s tower, described as “not much of a funnel but rotation in clouds and a lot of dust kicked up.” Funnel clouds also were spotted near University Park and the Alerus Center.
