EDINA, Minnesota — Lightning wasn’t the only thing that struck the ground during Tuesday morning’s storms. Thousands of trees were toppled across the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
“I have a yard here and a zip line that goes down this tree,” said Edina resident Scott Thorpe.
Thorpe has put a lot of work into his backyard since he moved here two years ago. But the project of clearing a huge tree that had split wasn’t his idea.
“It’s a bit of a mess,” Thorpe said.
Like many others in his Edina neighborhood, he woke up early in the morning to a strong wind.
“It was loud. I think there were branches hitting the windows or not, because these trees lost a few branches,” he said.
Residents of Eden Prairie, Bloomington and other surrounding cities also lost large trees. To help with the cleanup effort, the city of Eden Prairie will open its yard waste dump to residents on Wednesday.
Dwight Hammons, a certified arborist with Easy Tree Service, told WCCO that the wet summer has saturated the root systems of some trees and created large, heavy tree crowns, which can make some trees unstable during storms.
“Less severe storms can cause more damage because there is already damage to the trees,” Hammons said.
In Edina, Thorpe’s family may have lost their footing in the storm, but they remain positive.
“You have to stay positive. And I have free firewood. It may take a year for it to dry, but I have it,” he said.
