Boy drowns in rain-swollen creek

(AP) - Authorities released the name of the 13-year-old Maplewood boy who was killed in the heavy storms that swept through the metro area on Thursday night.

Maplewood Police Chief David Thomalla says the boy was Derek Tyler Beauclaire, who died Thursday.

Beauclaire was with three friends who went to play in a swollen stream in Battle Creek Regional Park in Maplewood and was swept over a small dam. Rescue crews later pulled the boy's body from the water.

Thomalla calls the death a "tragic and unfortunate situation."

Two townhomes were seriously damaged in Woodbury by what witnesses said looked like a tornado to them.

The airport suspended departures for about a half hour, but airport spokesman Pat Hogan said some landings were still allowed.

Hogan said the system was disrupted by poor visibility even before the worst weather hit, causing flight delays of as much as 2½ hours. Travelers were warned to expect significant delays through the evening, even after departures resumed, he said.

Downtown Minneapolis turned dark as night as the severe thunderstorms moved through the Twin Cities during the evening rush hour, snarling traffic, flooding streets and stalling some cars. The National Weather Service reported a "geyser" shooting up to 25 feet high out of one Minneapolis storm sewer.

There were several reports of funnel clouds being spotted across the metro area and elsewhere in path of the storms, and tornado sirens sounded in several communities.

There were no confirmed tornado touchdowns or any reports of injuries except for the drowning in Maplewood, though two townhomes were damaged in Woodbury by what witnesses said looked like a tornado to them.

Police and fire officials said they were not immediately able to determine if the damage was the result of a tornado or straight-line winds, but said the National Weather Service would visit the site in the morning. Trained storm spotters had seen several funnel clouds in the general area.

"We looked to our right and saw the funnel cloud just swirling around in the air," witness Steve Lagoon said, adding that his daughter watched it continue to develop as they sped away in his car.

The Red Cross helped find housing for the two families whose townhomes were seriously damaged.

Around 18,000 Xcel Energy customers lost power in the Twin Cities, primarily in the west metro area, as did about 11,000 Lake Country Power customers in northeastern Minnesota and about 7,000 members of Crow Wing Power in the Brainerd Lakes area.

Large trees were toppled in Litchfield, Willmar, Crosslake, Pequot Lakes, Isanti, Mora, Pine City, Duluth and parts of the Twin Cities area, including Minneapolis and Golden Valley.

Four homes were struck by lighting in Stearns County in central Minnesota, Sheriff John Sanner said. At least one of those homes, near Sauk Centre, sustained extensive smoke damage.

"We're going to be washing this off for a long time," said Jim Melin, who shares the house with his father, who was home when the lighting hit.

"All of a sudden it kind of quit raining," Dale Melin said. "And then all of a sudden it started raining again and BANG!"

Jim Melin said the lighting apparently struck a tall antenna near their house and traveled through the ground into the basement, where the fire started.

More than 2,100 people lost power in Stearns County, particularly in the Brooten area, Xcel Energy said. A National Weather Service spotter reported 4.85 inches of rain between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. just north of Sauk Centre.

As the storms tracked through west-central Minnesota earlier in the afternoon, one bus from Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City School sought safe shelter until the stormed passed. Central Minnesota Christian School in Prinsburg kept three busloads of students at the school for about 30 minutes and two other buses for about an hour after an unconfirmed report of a tornado in the area, Superintendent Rod De Boer said.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for all of northeastern Minnesota, an area that had already been soaked by heavy rains Tuesday. Downed power lines and lightning strikes sparked some fires in the northeast. Winds of 50 to 60 mph were reported in the Side Lake area north of Hibbing. The St. Louis County sheriff's office said many homes, cabins, outbuildings and vehicles were damaged by falling trees.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)