What a disaster. The storm that blew through last night and woke me up at 3:00 AM sure tore up Duluth and Hermantown. Tina and I lucked out in getting the place we have – it’s protected by the bluff behind, as well as an arm of the bluff that extends out to the north of us.

(duluthnewstribune.com) Severe thunderstorms roared through parts of the Northland like a hurricane early Thursday, with winds estimated as high as 90 mph downing trees onto powerlines, blocking roads and damaging many homes.

As of 1 p.m., about 75,000 customers were without power across the region. Minnesota Power estimated that a third of the city’s 65,000 customers were without power Thursday morning.

Minnesota Power was using helicopters in addition to ground crews to assess the damage.

The Duluth Fire Department advised no travel in the city of Duluth until later in the day because of downed trees and power lines and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office suggested the same in rural areas near Duluth and in the Ely area.

Like I said, I had no idea.

The outages were affecting the Duluth antenna farm, knocking most Duluth TV and radio stations off the air for a time.

Power also is out at the city’s main Lakewood water pumping station, which means no new water is being pumped into the city’s massive reservoir and water tower system.