Bismarck’s Copper Ridge Development Hit Hard By Storm

The Governor of North Dakota, Kelly Armstrong, has declared a statewide disaster after Friday night's storms.

Powerful thunderstorms spawned numerous tornadoes that took the lives of three people in Enderlin, North Dakota.

Some are calling this a "once-in-a-lifetime storm" with straight-line winds of 115 miles per hour, which is the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane.

The storm blew into Bismarck-Mandan-Lincoln at about 9 pm on Friday.

One area southeast of Bismarck was particularly hard-hit—the Copper Ridge development, which is a few miles south of Lincoln, North Dakota.

Strong straight-line winds leveled shops, campers, trailers, sheds, swing sets, and pools, tore off parts of roofs, ripped off siding and garage doors, and caused tree damage. Flying debris also caused structural damage to some homes.

This is the same development that saw softball to grapefruit sized hail last summer, which caused extensive damage to roofs.

One property owner told me, "We just can't catch a break. It seems like we are a magnet for hail and wind".

While driving around on Sunday, surveying the damage, I snapped a few photos of the destruction.

One of several campers I witnessed that had been flipped over or totally destroyed.

Debris from a rather large shop that blew across the street and damaged another home.

Straight-line winds took part of the roof off a home, exposing a bedroom to the outside elements.

A garage wall that was ripped away from the foundation.

Numerous sheds were also destroyed in the development.

Our hearts go out to Copper Ridge and all who were affected by Friday's tornadic storms.