By Dan Nienaber
EASTON — Dozens of southern Minnesota firefighters hoping to get a little rest after a friendly competition Sunday afternoon instead spent the evening watching for severe weather.
More than five inches of rain fell in about an hour in some areas between Easton and Minnesota Lake as a weather system moved through between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. The system, which included several reports of rotating clouds, triggered tornado sirens in Mankato as it clipped the southeastern corner of Blue Earth County.
“We’re just coming back in now,” Easton Fire Chief Steve Cole said just before 9 p.m. “Things are settling down now, but it was pretty hairy for a bit.”
One Easton firefighter working as a weather spotter reported seeing rotating clouds and debris in the air north of Easton, Cole said. The debris was likely from the tops of trees at a farm site about two miles north of the Faribault County city, he added.
“There was no severe or major damage that we found at all,” he said. “There was just a lot of heavy rain. From Easton north to the county line, there was up to five inches of rain in some places.”
The heavy rain hit Minnesota Lake as well, said Matt Nowak, a firefighter there. Spotters from that department were called in at about 9:15, but some had to go to work helping city workers.
“The streets are pretty flooded in town now and we’re helping the city pump water and keep things going,” Nowak said. “There’s a lot of water standing in the fields and there was a lot of wind. We saw some weird rotations, but no damage or touchdowns.”
Both Cole and Nowak said they were hearing the weather could have been more severe to the east. Cole said he heard there could have been several touchdowns in the area of Walters and old Highway 16.
The crews from both departments had been competing in a annual firefighter tournament, which included events such as water barrel fights. Easton was hosting the event, but Minnesota Lake won it by beating Delavan in the final event, Nowak said.
“We had a big weekend with a street dance and the fire tournament,” Cole said. “We were hoping to relax and got busy instead.”
