The North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network recorded wind velocities of 71 mph in Sawyer and 70 mph in Minot. A report of 78 mph wind came from southeast of Balfour. The storm extended over a good share of south and central North Dakota, with the highest recorded wind speed, 79 mph, in Golden Valley.

The National Weather Service received reports of damage to the roof of a metal shop in Balfour and a metal out building blown into a multi-family residence at Velva.

In Velva, the storm tore up a house addition under construction and the roof of an automotive business..

Dakota Midland Grain in Voltaire lost an empty grain bin, but it was a significant loss, according to Kevin Peterson, assistant general manager at Dakota Midland. He said the bin was empty in preparation for the fall harvest, and replacing it won’t happen in time to accommodate the crop. A bin damaged earlier this year is still in the process of being replaced, he said.

A tree was uprooted July 27 in the Velva City Park near a picnic shelter.

“We ourselves are making provisions to do as much as we can to accommodate the farmers,” Peterson said. That could mean storing additional grain on the ground or trucking a commodity to another of its facilities.

“We are exploring our options at this point,” he said.

Erickson said volunteers gathered at Velva’s city park after the storm to begin the cleanup.

“They made good progress getting things cleaned up on the ground. There were a lot of volunteers,” he said. “We have to be thankful for the volunteers who showed up. They brought their equipment and that really helped.”

However, a good deal of work remains, Erickson said.

A leaning tree of pine defies gravity as one of many victims of a July 27 storm in Velva.

The park system did not sustain damage to any of its facilities or structures. Erickson credited the good fortune to a grant-funded project last year to proactively remove trees that posed dangers. After this weekend’s storm, he said, it will be necessary again to identify damaged trees still standing or hazardous loose branches and remove any dangers.

The park district has been regularly planting trees and had more on order at the time of the latest storm. The district has been able to receive grant assistance for trees, Erickson said. However, even some of the new plantings were lost, and it’s hard to get ahead, he said.

“Over the years, with every storm, we lose trees, so the protection down there isn’t what it used to be,” he said. The park lost some trees in a storm earlier this year. Three years ago, early in the morning of another Sunday in July, the park suffered severe storm damage to its trees.

Rebuilding the tree canopy the park once enjoyed will take years, Erickson conceded.

“It still is a nice park,” he said. “It just takes part of it away. It’s really sad to see.”