Storm causes damage to windows, trees in Mitchell

• Storm damage

A tree fell on a Chevrolet pickup and a Lincoln Town Car (hidden) in a parking lot across the street from Lawler Automotive, after a storm moved through Mitchell Friday evening. (Emma DeJong/Republic)

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Numerous vehicle windows were shattered at Cadwell Park Friday evening because of a storm that came through the Mitchell area.

A National Weather Service official said there may have been a microburst, a localized column of straight-line damaging wind.

During an amateur baseball game at the Class B state tournament, about a 45-minute delay stopped a first-round game between Alexandria and Wessington Springs.

During the break, strong winds caused damage in the northern part of town.

Fallen tree branches were spotted on cars, and at least 20 vehicles in the Cadwell Park Sports Complex had windows broken from high wind gusts.

Philip Schumacher, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, said microbursts are common with storms like the one Friday evening.

Schumacher said there was a report of a 79 mph wind gust at the Mitchell Municipal Airport, making it the highest wind gust reported Friday.

“Bursts of wind can be less than a mile wide,” Schumacher said. “Fortunately, there was no hail. A lot of times there’s hail with storms like this.”

Tags: weather, updates, storm, damage, summer