By Deb Kroon
Review Staff Writer
On Friday the 13th of April, Mother Nature threw a huge curve ball at SW Minnesota. Blizzard warnings were already looming in the future. Winter storm Xanto (pronounced zanto) was moving into South Dakota promising to deliver a storm complete with rain, sleet, hail and many inches of snow.
Around 8:00 a.m. SW Minnesota was just beginning to feel the first effects of Xanto. The skies were dark, resembling a major summer storm. As the black clouds moved from west to east, accompanied by strong winds, lightening strikes and hail, the storm left behind downed power lines, shingles lying on the ground, and trees and grain bins in a twisted mess. There were no reported injuries, but about 800 customers were left without power in the communities of Ash Creek, Beaver Creek, Hills, Steen, Kanaranzi, Magnolia, Ellsworth and Lester, IA. Crews from six energy companies from around the area joined forces to restore and rebuild the more than sixty poles that the storm took down. Battling high winds, rain and sleet, they worked as quickly as they could.
One of the hardest hit areas was Ellsworth, MN. They are on the end of the transmission line that went down, and would be the last to have power restored. Around 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon, Mayor Tasha Domeyer and members of the Ellsworth Fire Department, assisted by Emergency Management Director Joyce Jacobs, began going door to door checking on residents-especially elderly individuals who may be unable to take the storm without heat or electricity for at least 48 hours. Parkview Manor Nursing Home had a few available beds, or they were encouraged to stay with relatives and friends in other locations. There was a generator at the Fire Hall for town residents who needed warmth and access to water and sewer facilities.
“We are trying hard to preplan”, said Mayor Domeyer. “The water should remain on,” she said, “And if there is a problem, we will have bottled water available.
The blizzard warning went into effect around 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Snowfall actually began closer to 5:00 a.m. With winds above 40 mph and heavy snowfall, it didn’t take long for Interstate 90 and most of the major highways in SW Minnesota to be closed to travel. Area businesses were closed, all events were postponed – people were encouraged to remain at home. At time visibility in town was down to less that a block. The snow and wind continued well into the night. The blizzard warnings were extended until 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
Sunday morning dawned clear, at least you could see. The snow had stopped and winds were down. Although there was occasional snow and wind, the warnings were downgraded to a winter weather advisory. The storm had passed. An additional two inches was possible and the winds could pick back up to around 25 mph. SW Minnesota received anywhere from eight to eighteen inches of actual snowfall, but the drifts were waist high in some spots. People spent Sunday digging out.
On Monday, April 16, Ellsworth was still out of power. Talking to Mayor Domeyer, she stated that she had been told by Noble Cooperative Electric that there were about nine poles left to replace and power should be back on by Monday evening. The pre-planning that Ellsworth did before the storm had paid off. “Eight people left their homes and stayed at Parkview Manor,” she said. “A lot of people had generators of their own. If there was a nice thing about Friday, it was that the weather wasn’t bad enough yet so people were able to get generators that didn’t already have them. We continued to check on people twice a day. We took shifts, so there was always someone at the Fire Hall. We have filled our 500 gallon gas tank twice so people could come and get gas to refill their generators. We prepared meals for the Fire Department at the Fire Hall and anyone who would come to recharge their devices could stay and eat if they wanted. Some people brought snacks for those working. You know what small town living is like, everyone pulled together.”
The next round of the continuing April Fool’s joke is scheduled to affect our area Tuesday night into Wednesday, with a possible three to eight inches of new snow and more wind. This has been the coldest April on record since the late 1800s. Maybe we won’t have spring this year. We can hope for summer.
