AUSTIN MN--A man who watched and photographed Wednesday night's storm in Austin believes there could have been more than one funnel. Mike Langstaff who lives in the nearby community of Mapleview said he took pictures as the storm passed shortly after 8 p.m. Langstaff watched as what he describes as a funnel hit some high voltage power lines about 4 miles North of Austin along Highway 218.He also said he watched the wind damage at least 4 or 5 nearby businesses. Langstaff said he spotted a different funnel form above the Hy-Vee grocery store, before its winds tore the roof off of his garage and leveled at least a half a dozen trees in his yard on Graham Street. He believes it is the same funnel that continued in an Easterly direction and slammed into Todd Park. Witnesses said several trees in the park were toppled by the storm.
Langstaff said he'll probably spend Thursday working to clean up the damage on his property and repair his home's roof. The National Weather Service in Chanhassen said its radar showed a tornado touching down in Austin. But the Weather Service won’t know for sure until one of its special teams gets a look at the damage and can determine the strength and the path of the storm.
