Fall begins with severe weather

A severe thunderstorm struck the area on the second day of fall last Tuesday, Sept. 24, as a possible tornado destroyed a barn west of Rake.

Several cattle were killed and others were injured at Brent and Molly Winter’s farm when one of their cattle barns collapsed.

Molly and son Lane were home at the time and took cover in the basement after Molly says she got a notification on her phone about a tornado warning. Fortunately, the house was not hit, and they couldn’t even hear the damage going on outside. “I was shocked when I came upstairs,” said Molly.

The barn was a complete loss, and Molly says it must have been a tornado because a strip of trees in the grove on the west side of their property was also torn out.

Meanwhile, a bicycle left outside standing on its kickstand was still upright, so she doesn’t think straight line winds could explain the damage.

There was also damage to trees in the town of Rake, and the welcome sign in the city park was partially destroyed. Ozz Landscaping was able to put the stone sign back together last Thursday. Rake Mayor Louise Hagedorn says there was a lot of cleanup to do in town, but they had some really good help to quickly get things back to normal. She says one of the firemen guessed it was 50-60 mph winds that caused the damage in town.

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