Trees felled as storm batters area

For those New Hampton residents who slept through an early morning storm Thursday, they were in for a rude awakening.A fast-moving storm packing torrential rainfall, lightning and winds that gusted over 50 miles per hour caused major tree damage, especially in the areas around Sheakley Park and the New Hampton Cemetery.“It’s pretty nasty and we’ll be working on this for the next day or two,” New Hampton Parks and Director Rick Kramer said as he surveyed the damage at Sheakley Park, which is located near the intersection of Sheakley Avenue and Wilson Street.In the 200 block of South Maple Avenue, a tree was uprooted and fell on top of a pickup parked in the driveway while another tree in the 200 block of South Walnut Avenue was split three different ways and parts of it were resting up against a house.The storm came a night after New Hampton received 1.32 inches of rain from the same storm system that produced four tornadoes just east of the Mississippi River in Wisconsin.The good news is area residents can expect a much quieter weather weekend as a cool front is expected to produce high temperatures in the 80s and low temperatures in the 50s and low 60s through Monday.